"We need to get serious": Derbyshire councillor launches bid to become Green Party deputy leader

North East Derbyshire District Council member Frank Adlington-Stringer has thrown his hat in the ring to become deputy leader of the national Green Party – saying he is the candidate to solve a big strategic dilemma, build on the party’s recent successes and counter the right-wing charge of Reform UK.

Elected in 2023 by his lifelong neighbours in the village of Wingerworth after a crowdfunded campaign, Councillor Adlington-Stringer has given up his job as a campaign manager with the party to stand for national office in the ballot which runs throughout the summer.

He said: “I think this is a really crucial moment for the party and we have to get it absolutely right. After the county elections where Reform surged, it feels more important than ever.

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“Greens work so hard trying to win elections. When we engage with local communities, and pull off what we say we’ll do, people like what they see of the Greens – but nationally that doesn’t cut through. If it did, we’d be able to win in many more places.

Frank Adlington-Stringer, who represents Wingerworth on North East Derbyshire District Council. (Photo: Contributed)placeholder image
Frank Adlington-Stringer, who represents Wingerworth on North East Derbyshire District Council. (Photo: Contributed)

He added: “It’s ridiculous that as a district councillor I have a bigger social media audience than some of our MPs. We need to get serious.

“For me, this is about professionalising the party. I know how to win elections, I understand what works in messaging and communications, and I want to take that to the next level.”

At the age of 27, Frank has already run and lost elections to become a county councillor, MP and Mayor of the East Midlands.

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Still, he will hope he is closer to the start of his political career than the end, and believes he has drawn enough lessons from his district council and wider campaigning experience to make a much bigger impact if given the opportunity.

Frank Adlington-Stringer, left, made an early impact as a parish councillor when he led volunteers in planting 500 trees across Wingerworth. (Photo: Contributed)placeholder image
Frank Adlington-Stringer, left, made an early impact as a parish councillor when he led volunteers in planting 500 trees across Wingerworth. (Photo: Contributed)

He said: “I’ve seen how hard it is to be the only Green in the room, win uphill battles and challenge prevailing narratives.

“But I’ve also see the difference it can make when one person stands up and speaks out, speaks truth to power and talks common sense. People respond well to that.

“I want to take some of that same dynamism from the council chamber to the national stage. The Greens are a small but mighty force, and we all need to speak with one voice.”

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Frank is one of seven candidates for the year-long role – the usual biannual internal elections were delayed by the General Election – which is focused on party organisation, strategy and profile-raising.

He said: “I think the party needs someone committed to the job of deputy leader. For too long, the leadership positions have been seen as just a next step on the way to becoming an MP.

“I want to make sure we’re bringing talent up through the party so we have a really good pool of candidates across the country, and that they have access to the support, training and infrastructure which they need.”

In a pitch to the membership he will take on to hustings nationwide in the coming weeks, Frank sets out the forces that have shaped his own thinking: “Neither of my parents went to university, and being state-school educated, I wrongly felt that politics wasn’t for me.

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“My dad feels his disability burdens our crumbling NHS; my European partner knows tougher immigration rules are preventing us from living together; my mum is battling to keep her small business alive as our high streets are decimated by corporate greed.

“All of this moves me to take a stand but it’s the knowledge that I am not alone which keeps me fighting. I cannot abide children going to school hungry, vulnerable people being dismissed, hard working families struggling to afford the basics, and an increasingly voiceless natural world being silently decimated.

“Our movement is built on principles of justice and fairness, and like you, I will not rest until our politics reflects that.”

So far, much more media attention has been paid to those running to become party leader, Zack Polanski and the joint ticket of Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns.

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Their respective campaigns have highlighted a divide in the membership and opinions on where the party should go next after winning four seats at last year’s General Election, when environmental crises and entrenched social and economic problems should make the Greens more relevant than ever.

London Assembly member Polanski and his supporters argue the party should target historically Labour-leaning urban areas where the Greens are already polling second thanks to more progressive voters.

Their idea is to develop the party in the style of a mass-membership social movement which exerts democratic pressure outside of Westminster as well as in the corridors of power.

Ramsay and Chowns, MPs who both took Conservative-held seats in 2024, are seen to address more rural and traditional environmental concerns and an approach to achieving policy goals which focuses on bureaucratic processes in parliament and local government.

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The question is whether the Greens would be more successful attacking Labour from the left or trying to win over voters who may be frustrated with other parties but hesitant to move too far from the so-called centre ground – or whether it can build a coalition of the two.

Frank said: “I won’t publicly endorse either of the leadership contenders and I’ll work with whoever wins for the good of the party.

“I represent a rural community but I’ve worked in urban areas and got Greens elected in London, Bristol and the West Midlands. So I see myself being able to do both.

“When this is over, we all have to work together and push to win urban and rural seats, whether they’re historically Labour or Conservative. It needs a real mix of approaches.

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“I do think it’s really important that we get more Green representation in Derbyshire and across the East Midlands, areas where we haven’t traditionally been so strong.”

If the Greens hope to build on their gains whenever the next General Election comes, it is likely they will have to confront Reform UK – with momentum around the new party carrying it to power in many local authority areas in May.

That included Derbyshire County Council where the new regime gave an early indicator of its attitude to green issues by scrapping the climate change committee.

Frank said: “I think the Greens are the only party with an answer to Reform at the moment. We’re the only ones prepared to challenge them and talk about the issues that really matter to people.

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“Labour and the Tories are simply mirroring Reform when what it needs is bold opposition to hold them to account. We can do that and, at the same time, push Labour to be more bold when we prove that what we’re doing wins.”

To learn more about his campaign, go to rankfrank1st.green or find @frankadlingtons on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and other platforms.

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