Natalie Bennett

Natalie Bennett was elected the leader of The Green Party of England and Wales on September 3, 2012.

Born in Sydney, Australia, she has lived in London for 13 years.

She started her career as a journalist in rural New South Wales and has worked for the Bangkok Post, the Telegraph, the Independent, The Times and, most recently, as editor of Guardian Weekly.

Natalie obtained a degree in agricultural science from the University of Sydney and has worked on farms, making her the only political leader in the country with a scientific background.

Natalie spent two years in Bangkok working with the National Commission on Women’s Affairs, on its report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. She also worked as a consultant with the International Labor Organisation (ILO) on child labour issues and World Health Organization (WHO) on women’s health.

A trustee of the Fawcett Society, Britain’s pre-eminent women’s issues group, she was the founder of the blog Carnival of Feminists and is an active campaign on women’s issues.

Within the party she’s been an active worker on policy, on issues ranging from the abolition of the Corporation of the City of London to abortion rights, proportional liability on the roads to job-share MPs and a 40% quota for women on major company boards, the treatment of women offenders and the rights of asylum-seekers and sex workers.

Natalie served as the internal communications coordinator for the party from September 2007-2010 and was the founding chair of Green Party Women. Living in Somers Town, central London, she is a local community campaigner and is an active member of the People’s Supermarket Co-operative.

Natalie stood in the 2010 general election for the seat of Holborn and St Pancras, and was selected for the London Assembly list in May 2012, on the London-wide list for The Green Party.

Natalie's official site