Natalie Bennett to step down as Green Party leader this summer

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...medium=twitter

Natalie Bennett to step down as Green Party leader this summer

‘I’m not a lifelong politician,’ says Bennett, as speculation begins over successor, with Caroline Lucas a likely strong contender

Natalie Bennett is to step down as leader of the Greens this summer, after saying she believed she had established her party as a national force while acknowledging that she was not a “spin-trained, lifelong politician”.

She will remain leader until the end of August when her second two-year term expires, but said she was making the announcement now to allow possible successors plenty of time to come forward.

The Green leader, who took over from the better known Caroline Lucas, came to national prominence during last year’s general election campaign, when she appeared in the televised party leaders’ debates alongside David Cameron and Ed Miliband.

However, she was forced to apologise to members after an excruciating radio interview in which she failed to explain Green party policies, which she put down to “brain fade” and suffering a cold.

Reflecting on her time as the head 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,” she said. “It’s both my strength and my weakness that I answer the question.” She argued that sometimes, because the Greens’ policies are radical, they have received “a very extreme level of hostility”.

The party ended up holding its single MP in Brighton and bringing its share of the vote up slightly to 3.8%, but despite growing its membership from 13,000 to 60,000 under her leadership the party ultimately failed to break through as Green members had hoped and Labour had feared.

The Australian former Guardian journalist, who only joined the party in 2006, said she had always intended to serve for four years, and felt she had achieved much of what she hoped to do when she took up the post in 2012. “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.”

Could well be the first of a few party leadership changes this summer.

[lawrawrrr]

Under her I've seen a lot more of the Green Party. Whether that's credit to her personally or the increasing strength of the party as a whole I don't know for sure but it still reflects on her as a leader. Has been great when I've seen her in interviews as well. She'll be a loss to the party!