Jonathan Charles Bartley (born 16 October 1971) is a British politician who was a
co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
, a position he shared with
Caroline Lucas
Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...
from 2016 to 2018, and then, from 2018 to 2021, with
Siân Berry
Siân Rebecca Berry (; born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion since July 2024, succeeding Caroline Lucas. She was a co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongsid ...
. He was the Green Party's national Work and Pensions spokesperson
[Green Party Spokespeople]
''Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
'' and the party's Parliamentary candidate for
Streatham
Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
Streatham was in Surrey ...
in the
2015 general election. He was the
Unite to Remain
Unite to Remain () was a campaign and electoral pact during the 2019 United Kingdom general election. It involved three parties that Opposition to Brexit in the United Kingdom, supported remaining in the European Union: the Liberal Democrats ( ...
candidate for
Dulwich and West Norwood
Dulwich and West Norwood is a constituency in South London created in 1997. It has been represented by Helen Hayes of Labour since her election in 2015.
In the 2016 EU referendum, Dulwich and West Norwood voted to remain in the European Unio ...
at the
2019 general election.
Bartley was leader of the opposition and a councillor on
Lambeth Council representing the St Leonard's ward in
Streatham
Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
Streatham was in Surrey ...
between 2018 and 2022.
Bartley is the founder and was (until 2016) co-director of
Ekklesia, an independent
think tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
looking at the role of religion in public life and appears regularly on UK radio and television programmes. He is a member of the
blues rock
Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...
band
The Mustangs.
Early life
Bartley was born in London on 16 October 1971. His father was Christopher Bartley, an NHS consultant physician, and
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
veteran. Bartley's uncle was
Anthony Bartley, a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Spitfire pilot and squadron leader who married the actress
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a Scottish actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first person from Scotland to be no ...
. Bartley is a direct descendant of the prison reformer
Elizabeth Fry.
From 1980 to 1989, Bartley was educated at
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
, a boarding
independent school
A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
for boys, in
Dulwich
Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...
in south London. At the age of seventeen and while still at school, Bartley hit and killed a young student while driving a car, but the death was treated as accidental and the police did not press charges.
After leaving school, Bartley attended the
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
, from which he graduated with a degree in social policy.
Politics
After graduating from the LSE, Bartley worked at the UK Parliament on a cross-party basis as a researcher and parliamentary assistant for a number of years. He volunteered on
John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
's campaign team in the 1995
Conservative Party leadership election against
John Redwood. He later said, "I was not an advisor, I was not a staffer and I am so far from the Conservatives you wouldn't believe."
In 2002, Bartley co-founded
Ekklesia, a Christian think-tank which looks at "the changing role of beliefs, values and faith/non-faith in public life". In 2008, he co-founded the
Accord Coalition, which works to end religious discrimination and segregation in the English and Welsh school systems.
He is a regular contributor to
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
's ''
The Big Questions
''The Big Questions'' was an interfaith dialogue and ethics television programme usually presented by Nicky Campbell. It was broadcast live on BBC One on Sunday mornings, replacing ''The Heaven and Earth Show'' as the BBC's religious discussion ...
''. He has formerly contributed to
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
's ''
Thought for the Day'' and
ITV's ''The Moral of the Story'', and has been a columnist for ''
The Church Times''. He has been a guest on BBC Radio 4's ''
The Moral Maze'' and has written for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' newspaper.
David Cameron incident
On 27 April 2010, while Bartley was waiting to attend a hospital appointment at the
Evelina Children's Hospital with his son Samuel, a Conservative Party official asked if he would like to meet the-then
Leader of the Conservative Party,
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
.
Bartley agreed and party officials then brought the Conservative leader over to meet them, on his way to a car after a
General Election
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
campaign event in South London.
Bartley asserted that Conservative manifesto plans would increase the segregation of disabled children as it pledged to "end the bias towards the inclusion of children with special needs in mainstream schools".
Referring to his own two-year attempt to gain a place for his son in a mainstream school, Bartley also asked why the Conservative manifesto did not say that the Conservatives wanted to encourage children into mainstream schools. Cameron said, "It absolutely does say that sir, I promise you".
After the event Channel 4 FactCheck said that Cameron had been wrong.
''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' pointed out that Bartley had been on ''
The Moral Maze'' and was a regular commentator in the media. Bartley said he was a "floating voter", that he felt let down by the main parties and criticised the Labour government over the issues of inclusion.
Afterwards, Bartley became the chair of the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE).
AV referendum
As part of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement following the 2010 general election, the two parties agreed to an AV referendum on changing the method of electing MPs in subsequent general elections. A long-time supporter of electoral reform, Bartley was appointed a vice-chair of the official cross-party ''
YES! To Fairer Votes'' campaign, acting principally as a media spokesperson throughout the referendum.
After the campaign, he joined the council of the
Electoral Reform Society
The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) is an Advocacy group, independent advocacy organisation in the United Kingdom which promotes electoral reform. It seeks to replace first-past-the-post voting with proportional representation, advocating the si ...
, serving as vice-chair.
Green Party
In 2012, Bartley was selected as the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice.
Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
candidate for the
Lambeth and Southwark constituency for the
London Assembly elections
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, winning over 18,000 votes. Bartley also acted as the party's press officer for the London campaign.
In 2014, Bartley contested the
St Leonard's Ward on Lambeth Council as a Green candidate. He finished in fifth place.
Bartley has represented the Green Party in the media, including the BBC's welfare debate at the
2015 general election, clashing with then-Work and Pensions Secretary
Iain Duncan Smith
Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Le ...
. Bartley was the Green Party candidate for the London constituency of
Streatham
Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
Streatham was in Surrey ...
in the election, finishing fourth and receiving 4,421 votes (8.9%), up from the 1.8% the party received in 2010.
Bartley sought to be the party's candidate in the
2016 London mayoral election
The 2016 London mayoral election was held on 5 May 2016 to elect the Mayor of London, on the same day as the 2016 London Assembly election, London Assembly election. It was the fifth election to the position of mayor, which was created in 2000 ...
, but was defeated by
Siân Berry
Siân Rebecca Berry (; born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion since July 2024, succeeding Caroline Lucas. She was a co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongsid ...
. He was instead named in fourth place on the party's list of candidates for the
concurrent London Assembly elections and played an active role in the campaign.
On 31 May 2016, it was announced that Bartley would run for the position of the leader of the Green Party in a job share arrangement with the former leader
Caroline Lucas
Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...
in the forthcoming
2016 Green Party leadership election. He and Lucas subsequently became co-leaders on 2 September 2016. Bartley did not stand for election at the
2017 general election.
Bartley was also the Work and Pensions spokesperson for the Green Party from 2016 to 2017.
On 3 May 2018, Bartley was elected as a Green Party councillor for St Leonard's Ward on
Lambeth Council. He finished as the second place Green candidate. Later that month he became leader of the Green group and opposition on the Council.
On 30 May 2018, Caroline Lucas announced she would not seek re-election as co-leader of the Green Party in the party's forthcoming leadership election. Bartley stood for election as co-leader with
Siân Berry
Siân Rebecca Berry (; born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion since July 2024, succeeding Caroline Lucas. She was a co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongsid ...
and the two were successful.
On 16 October 2019, his 48th birthday, Bartley was arrested by police while demonstrating with
Extinction Rebellion
Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a UK-founded global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and ...
in
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...
.
Bartley again stood for Parliament in the
2019 General Election in the constituency of
Dulwich and West Norwood
Dulwich and West Norwood is a constituency in South London created in 1997. It has been represented by Helen Hayes of Labour since her election in 2015.
In the 2016 EU referendum, Dulwich and West Norwood voted to remain in the European Unio ...
, finishing second with 16.5% of the vote. This represented a 14% increase in the party's vote share, the largest for any Green candidate in the country at that election.
On 8 June 2020, Bartley announced his intention to stand again as co-leader alongside Berry. On 9 September, it was reported that Bartley and Berry had been
re-elected, but with a decreased vote share.
Bartley was reported to have said that he personally supports the banning of
halal
''Halal'' (; ) is an Arabic word that translates to in English. Although the term ''halal'' is often associated with Islamic dietary laws, particularly meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines, it also governs ethical practices ...
slaughter. He later apologised and clarified his position saying he is against the suffering inflicted during slaughter on any un-stunned animals, and recognising that the majority of Halal slaughter involves pre-stunning animals.
In May 2021, Bartley was a signatory to an open letter from
''Stylist'' magazine, alongside celebrities and other public figures, which called on the government to address what it described as an "epidemic of male violence" by funding an "ongoing, high-profile, expert-informed awareness campaign on men's violence against women and girls".
In July 2021, Bartley announced that he would be standing down as party co-leader later in the month, triggering a
leadership contest.
Music
Bartley is the drummer for British blues rock band
The Mustangs. The band is signed to the Trapeze music label and has released ten albums, including a live album and a 'Best Of'. In June 2017 The Mustangs played the Glastonbury Festival.
Family
Bartley has three children with his wife, Lucy. Bartley confirmed in May 2017 that he and Lucy had separated.
Books
*''The Subversive Manifesto: lifting the lid on God's political agenda'' (Bible Reading Fellowship, 2004).
* ''Your Child and the Internet'' (Hodder, 2004).
* (Co-editor, with Simon Barrow) ''Consuming Passion: Why The Killing of Jesus Really Matters'' (DLT, 2005)
*''Faith and Politics After Christendom: the church as a movement for anarchy'' (Paternoster, 2006).
References
External links
Jonathan Bartley on FacebookJonathan Bartley Column (Ekklesia)Jonathan Bartley columns at guardian.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartley, Jonathan
1971 births
Living people
21st-century English theologians
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Anglican pacifists
British blues rock musicians
Councillors in the London Borough of Lambeth
English Christian pacifists
English Christians
English activists
English columnists
English male non-fiction writers
English republicans
Green Party of England and Wales councillors
Green Party of England and Wales parliamentary candidates
People educated at Dulwich College
The Guardian journalists
21st-century English politicians
Leaders of the Green Party of England and Wales