Natalie Bennett to stand down as leader of the Green Party after four years
Natalie Bennett is to step down as leader of the Green Party, according to the Guardian, as she hailed her achievements in making the party a force in national politics and said it was time to move aside.
Bennett, who has been leader of the party since 2012, said she always intended to stand as leader for four years and never wanted to become a career or “lifelong politician”.
“I started with a number of intentions: making the Green party a truly national party; growing the membership; growing the strength of our local parties and getting us into national debates,” Bennett told the Guardian.
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“We’ve very much grown up [under my leadership], and developed and become a truly national party. We are now spread right across the country,” she added.
Caroline Lucas, the Green’s sole MP, will be the frontrunner to succeed Bennett. Lucas was the leader of the party between 2008 and 2012, before she stood down to focus on her parliamentary activities.
Sian Berry, the party's candidate for London mayor is also likely to feature in talk of Bennett's successor.
Bennett hugs Leanne Wood, leader of Plaid Cymru and Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) after the 2015 general election television debates.
Bennett rose to national prominence following the seven-way television debates ahead of the 2015 general election. After the spike in publicity, she took the party to win their highest ever share of the popular vote – at 3.8 per cent – with more than one million votes cast for Green Party candidates.
The Australian, who only became a member of the party in 2006, was unable, however, to boost the Green Party's representation at Westminster. She fell short in her own bid for the Holborn and St Pancras constituency, coming third behind the winner, Labour’s Keir Starmer, and the Conservatives.
Read more: Bennett struggles to talk tax ahead of 2015 general election
Summarising her experience at the top of the party, Bennett said: “There have been times when I got things right, and times when I got things wrong, but that’s because I’m not a smooth, spin-trained, lifelong politician. It’s both my strength and my weakness that I answer the question.”
Bennett said she will continue to play a role in UK politics and will remain a campaigner on issues that matter to her.