Liverpool Green Party has today announced that Cllr John Coyne, the current leader of the opposition on the council, will not be seeking re-election when his term as a councillor ends next year.
Speaking today to the Echo, Cllr Coyne explained his reasons:
“I was first elected to represent people in the old Dingle ward back in 2002 and re-elected in 2003. I’ve then been elected in 2004, 2007 and 2011 as a councillor for St Michaels and it is a real honour to continue to serve as a councillor in the area of the city I live in.
“Between now and May next year I’ve still got a lot to do as the opposition leader in Liverpool. I’m looking forward to holding the Labour administration to account and challenging it when needs be. I’m also looking forward to having some time away from politics after May, but I think I might have one more electoral campaign in me as a Green candidate, so it’s not goodbye to local politics just yet.”
Coyne’s departure from the council chamber will leave Green Deputy Leader, Cllr Sarah Jennings as the senior Green figure in the city council, and she has praised her ward colleague’s contribution to politics in the city.
“John has never been a career politician. His decision in 2006 to leave the Liberal Democrats over their unquestioning support for the Pathfinder schemes, that decimated communities on Edge Lane and around the city, was a brave one. He joined the Green Party at a time when we were already getting serious about winning seats in the city, but his subsequent re-election as a Green councillor undoubtedly changed our upward trajectory.
“I’ve now served alongside John as a ward councillor for six years in St Michaels and I know that the vast majority of the community respect his contribution and service. It is a privilege for us to be ward councillors. Tom Crone and I will maintain the high standards he has set for the party. We’ve opened nominations for our 2015 candidates in the city and we’ll be selecting a strong successor to stand in John’s place next May and to continue to build on his excellent record.”
If you are interested in standing as a candidate in 2015 and would like to find out more, please contact Lewis Coyne.
Profile Piece
2002 Elected as Dingle ward councillor for the Liberal Democrats in a close race with Labour in a double ward vacancy
2003 Re-elected as a Liberal Democrat with an increased majority
2004 Elected alongside two other Liberal Democrats in the newly created ward of St Michaels
2006 Resigns from Liberal Democrats on a point of principle over their implementation of the Pathfinder scheme in the city
2006 Joins the Green Party before the local elections and the Greens finish in 2nd place in St Michaels
2007 Re-elected as a Green councillor for the first time
2008 Cllr Sarah Jennings elected, enabling the Greens to form a group on the council
2011 Re-elected again with 50% support in the ward
2012 Runs against Joe Anderson for the Mayoral contest finishing 4th and retaining the deposit.
2014 Becomes Leader of the Opposition as the Greens double their councillor tally to 4 and the Liberal Democrats collapse to just 3 councillors in the city.
2015 Will step down as a councillor
