Green Party Elects New Deputy Leader

The Green Party has elected a new deputy leader.

Tanya Jones will take over from Claire Bailey after she stepped aside from the role.

Ms Jones is a writer, former solicitor and well known anti-fracking activist. Tanya is chair of the Fermanagh and South Tyrone Green Party and lives with her family in Enniskillen.

She stood for the Green Party in Fermanagh & South Tyrone in the last Westminster election and previous two Assembly elections.

She said: "I'm absolutely delighted; even as a writer, I'm almost lost for words. I'm hugely grateful to my fellow Green Party members for the trust and confidence which they've put in me, and determined to do my best to repay that.

"I've been a member of the Green Party for thirteen years, the past eleven of them in Northern Ireland, living in Enniskillen. I've seen the party grow immensely during that time in terms of membership and elected representatives and the clarity and confidence of our voice in the public arena.

"Here in Northern Ireland, the Green Party has led the way on many, initially unpopular campaigns, the first to call for marriage equality, a ban on dangerous fracking, the decriminalisation of abortion, a referendum on the final Brexit deal and a new civic conversation to renew and revitalise the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.

"I am immensely proud to represent a party with such courage and vision, combined with detailed policy based on reliable evidence.

"I am looking forward to working even more closely with my friends and colleagues, especially Steven Agnew and Clare Bailey, and to using my skills and experience in every way that I can in helping to bring about a fairer, cleaner and more hopeful future for the whole of Northern Ireland."

(CD/LM)