LONDON, UK / AGILITYPR.NEWS / July 07, 2020 /  

MEDIA RELEASE – STRICT EMBARGO 00:01HRS JUL 7, 2020                   

Leadership Changes at The Renew Party

• Former Deputy Leader, James Clarke, elected Leader
• Carla Burns elected Deputy Leader

LONDON, UK, Jul 7, 2020 – The polls have closed, and the results are in for the new leadership team of the Renew Party.

James Clarke, one of the original founders of Renew, and its former Deputy Leader, has been elected as Leader and will take over from Interim Leader, former MEP, Julie Girling, who announced her resignation last week. Julie will remain with the party and will continue to support the Board and Leadership.

James Clarke, Leader of Renew, said: “I am excited and humbled by the opportunity to lead Renew at this time of great turmoil and uncertainty for our country. Renew is entering a new era with a new leadership team and a fresh, focussed set of goals. I want to drive Renew forward as a platform for people who want to get heard, based on the principles of reform, participation and openness.

“Politics in the UK is currently a franchise system dominated by legacy parties that can no longer effectively deliver for the voter. Renew is about bringing people together, not around tribalism or grievance or ideology. It's about rationally, calmly and openly engaging to change our country in a way that seeks to find common ground with people across the board, from all walks of life.

“That's why we started Renew, a grassroots, organic and inclusive organisation, pushing for broad political and electoral reform and renewal.

“On behalf of Renew, I would like to recognise the fantastic work that has been done during the last 12 months by our interim leader Julie Girling. Julie probably didn’t foresee that her tenure at the helm of Renew would encompass our first General Election as a party and that is just one of the ways this has been an eventful year for Renew. Julie’s experience, cool head and wise words have been extremely valuable to us and I am thoroughly delighted that we can continue to count on her input and support.

“We are asking the people of the UK to join up, have your say, and get heard."

46-year-old James lives in London and was one of the original founders of Renew. Before helping to start the Party, he stood as an Independent in Bermondsey and Old Southwark in the 2017 General Election.

At Renew he has been Head of Outreach and Party Principal before becoming Deputy Leader in October of 2018.

Prior to politics, James has worked as an educator, event manager, insurance underwriter and tech start-up consultant in London, Tokyo, Sydney and Amsterdam. He holds an MSc in The History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Renew’s new Deputy Leader is Carla Burns. Carla is from Liverpool where she still lives with her husband and daughter. She works in the NHS, in the fields of Human Resources and Organisational Development, with special interests in equality and sustainability.

Carla joined Renew as it was starting out after finding herself politically homeless after the 2016 referendum. Since then her interest has continued to grow and she stood for Renew in Sefton Central in the 2019 General Election.

Carla Burns, Deputy Leader of Renew, said: “I believe passionately that everyone should have the opportunity to achieve their potential. I also believe that politicians should work to represent the best interests of their constituents, which is clearly not currently the case for so many in power.

“I am thrilled to have been elected as Deputy Leader of Renew and I thank all the members for their support. I am looking forward to working with James and the rest of the Renew Board and management to make Renew as inclusive and representative of people across the UK as possible.”

Renew operates a Digital Democracy platform that is unique across UK political parties. It enables members to vote on policy wherever they are in the UK, without the need to travel to a party conference. In this way it ensures everyone in the Party has an equal opportunity to make their opinions known, from London to Lochaber. It also enables elections to be held quickly and fairly, which is how Renew was able to have a new leadership team in place in less than two weeks from the resignation of its interim leader.

ENDS

For more information, or to arrange an interview, contact:

Heather Astbury

press@renewparty.org.uk

0203 289 4160