An internal Green Party of England of Wales election was held in August 2025 to elect either one or two deputy leaders of the party, in line with the party's constitution. It was held at the same time as the 2025 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election.
The incumbent deputy leader Zack Polanski, who had been in office since 2022, declined to run, instead running for the leadership position.
Background According to the constitution of the Green Party of England and Wales, deputy leader(s) of the party are elected every two years, at the same time as the leader(s). The election due to take place in 2024 was postponed due to the UK general election following a motion passed at the party's 2023 Autumn Conference. This election was held concurrently with other elections to the executive of the party, including the leadership.
Electoral system Candidates put themselves forward as individuals. The leader and deputy leader team must consist of three individuals in total: either two joint leaders and one deputy leader, or one leader and two joint deputy leaders. As a result, the number of deputy leaders to be elected depends on the outcome of the concurrent leadership election: if two individuals are elected as leader then only one deputy will be elected, but if only one individual is elected as leader then two deputies will be elected. In the latter scenario, the two deputy leaders must not be the same gender as each other.
The election is held under an instant-runoff voting system. In the event that two deputy leaders are required to be elected, a form of single transferable vote is used. After the election of the first deputy leader, all candidates of the same gender as the first-elected deputy leader are eliminated and their vote preferences redistributed, thereby ensuring that the second-elected deputy leader is of a different gender to the first. There is also an option to reopen nominations on the ballot.
The spending limit for candidates was £500.
Timetable + 2025 GPEW leadership election timetable Date(s) Relevant deadline/period 3 May Notice of election published 2 June Nominations opened (10am BST) 30 June Nominations closed (12noon) 2 July Statement of Persons Nominated published 3 July Campaign period began 1 August Ballots opened 30 August Ballots closed (12noon) 1 September Deadline for postal ballots 2 September Results announced
Candidates The candidate list, published 2 July, included the following 9 candidates: Candidate Slogan Political office Date announced Campaign website Source(s)Frank Adlington-StringerOpen. Honest. Direct.Councillor for Wingerworth ward, North East Derbyshire30 June 2025Mothin AliFor Deputy, For YouCouncillor for Gipton and Harehills, Leeds4 June 2025Thomas DawBuilding a Better Green PartyCouncillor for Wrington, North Somerset7 May 2025 Antoinette Fernandez Antoinette for All Candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (2024)Candidate for 2024 London Assembly election, North East 6 May 2025Alex MaceRadical hope can winCouncillor for St Stephen ward, Worcester29 June 2025Rachel MillwardHope can winDeputy leader of Wealden District Council10 June 2025Ash RouthStanding order committee memberCandidate for Wakefield and Rothwell (2024)N/AAni TownsendCouncillor for Central ward, Bristol Candidate for Bristol East (2024)9 June 2025Chas WarlowCouncillor for South Richmond, Richmond upon Thames27 June 2025
Declined
Zack Polanski, incumbent Deputy Leader since 2022 (ran for Leader)
Hustings and debates The debates that took place for the leadership were as follows: +DateTitleHostParticipantsLinkWider coverage/ source(s)Adlington-StringerAliDawFernandezMaceMillwardRouthTownsendWarlow24 JulyGreen Party Deputy Leadership Hustings 2025Greens OrganiseYouTube
Results With Polanski elected as a single leader, two deputy leaders were to be elected. Mothin Ali was elected first after 7 rounds of vote transfers from other candidates; a second count was then calculated with all male candidates removed to ensure the second deputy leader being of a different gender to the first, in which Rachel Millward was elected. 16,013 ballots were cast.
See also 2025 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election 2025 Scottish Greens co-leadership election
References
External links Deputy Leader candidates (Green Party website) LGBTIQA+ Greens Executive Pledge responses