The Green party are voting to elect their first ever leader tonight at the start of the party conference.The first contender is Caroline Lucas, the party's female principal speaker and Green MEP for south-east England. You can read politics.co.uk's interview with Green leadership candidate Caroline Lucas here. The second is Ashley Gunstock, former star of The Bill and Green candidate for Leyton and Wanstead. You can read politics.co.uk's interview with Green leadership candidate Ashley Gunstock here. "The election of a leadership team offers us new and exciting opportunities to take the radical message of Green politics into the mainstream – where it belongs," Ms Lucas said. "The need for Green political influence has never been so urgent, and never has there been so much at stake. I would regard it as a major part of my role to communicate that even more effectively." Up to now the party has had two principle speakers – one male, one female – but party members voted to change the system by 73 per cent in a referendum last November. The gender balance aspect of the leadership has been retained however. The leadership election vote is counted first and if a woman is selected, for instance, only male candidates will be counted in the election for deputy leader which follows. This could prove a problem if Ashley Gunstock wins the leadership, because the only candidate for deputy leader is male councillor Adrian Ramsay. Caroline Lucas is the clear favourite to win the leadership, however. The new leader is expected to make a speech to the party tomorrow afternoon. The Green party are pushing to secure their first member of parliament, for Brighton Pavilion, in the coming general election.
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