Jonathan Bartley, Green Party new co-leader

Jonathan Bartley – Quaker?

Jonathan Bartley, the Green Party’s new co-leader alongside Caroline Lucas, is a direct descendant of Elizabeth Fry, the Quaker prisoner reformer.
She was his great (times four) grandmother.

He told the Eastern Region Green Party this today when I asked him about his faith. While he said he was from a Quaker family, he did not define his faith. But you can guess where he is coming from by knowing that he was a founder of Ekklesia, the independent think-tank that examines the role of religion, beliefs and values critiques public policy "from a forward-looking, theologically-resourced perspective based on a strong commitment to social justice." Ekklesia is rooted in broadly nonconformist Christian traditions and is not tied to any one denomination or church body. One of Ekklesia's current associates is Symon Hill, a Quaker who is well-known to Colchester Meeting.

My letter to Socialst Worker: Jonathan Bartley, the Green Party and abortion

Troublemaker at socialistworker.co.uk said that Jonathan Bartley, the Green Party’s new co-leader, 'vocally opposes abortion out of “respect for unborn life”' (30 Aug 2016).

I asked him about this when he addressed the Eastern Region Green Party today. He said he has publicly supported the woman’s right to choose during his recent leadership election campaign. Furthermore, the Green Party Autumn Conference has just reaffirmed its support for abortion rights by voting to decriminalise abortion – a move that has been commended by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service.