Jonathan Bartley


Jonathan Charles Bartley is a British politician and Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, a position he shared with Caroline Lucas and then, from 4 September 2018, with Siân Berry. He was the Green Party's national Work and Pensions spokesperson and the party's Parliamentary candidate for Streatham in the 2015 general election. He was the Unite to Remain candidate for Dulwich and West Norwood at the 2019 general election.
Bartley is a councillor on Lambeth Council representing the St Leonard's ward, he has done so since his election on 3 May 2018. On 15 May 2018, Bartley became Leader of the Opposition on Lambeth Council.
Bartley is the founder and was co-director of Ekklesia, an independent think tank 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 band The Mustangs and lives with his family in Streatham, South London.

Early life and family

Bartley was born in London on 16 October 1971. His father was Christopher Bartley, an NHS consultant physician, and Normandy veteran. Bartley's uncle was Anthony Bartley, a World War II Spitfire pilot and squadron leader who married the actress Deborah Kerr. Bartley is a direct descendant of the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry.
From 1980 to 1989, Bartley was educated at Dulwich College, a boarding independent school for boys, in Dulwich in south London. At age seventeen, and while still at school, Bartley, in a car, ran into and killed a young pedestrian, but the death was treated as accidental and the police did not press charges. After leaving school, Bartley attended the London School of Economics, from which he graduated in 1994.

Life and career

After graduating, 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'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's The Big Questions. He has formerly contributed to BBC Radio 4'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 newspaper. He has also represented the Green Party of England and Wales in the media, including the BBC's welfare debate at the 2015 general election, clashing with the former Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith.

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. Bartley agreed and party officials then brought the Conservative leader over to meet them, on his way to a car after a General Election 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. David Cameron said "It absolutely does say that sir, I promise you". After the event Channel 4 FactCheck said that David Cameron had been wrong.
The Daily Telegraph 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.

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, serving as vice-chair.

Green Party activity

In 2012, Bartley was selected as the Green Party candidate for the Lambeth and Southwark constituency for the London Assembly elections, 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 was the Green Party candidate for the London constituency of Streatham in the 2015 general election, receiving 4,421 votes, up from the 1.8% the party received in 2010.
Bartley sought to be the party's candidate in the 2016 London mayoral election, but was defeated by Siân Berry. 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 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 is also the Work and Pensions spokesperson for the Green Party of England and Wales.
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 leadership election which will take place in September, as the party elects its leaders every 2 years. He stood for election as co-leader with Siân Berry and the two were successful.
On 16 October 2019, his 48th birthday, Bartley was arrested by police while demonstrating with Extinction Rebellion in Trafalgar Square.
Bartley has said he personally supports the banning of halal slaughter.

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 are now separated.

Books