Green Party of England and Wales elections in England and Wales, the Green Party in Brighton and Hove took minority control of the City Council by winning 23 seats, 5 short of an overall majority. At the 2012 local government elections the Green Party gained 5 seats, and retained both AMs at the 2012 London Assembly election. At the London Mayoral Election the party's candidate Jenny Jones finished third, and lost her deposit. In May 2012, Lucas announced that she would not seek re-election to the post of party leader. In September, Natalie Bennett was elected party leader and Will Duckworth deputy leader in the leadership
Anthony Bennett (politician) Bennett had split following the police investigation into Bennett. On 22 July, Essex Police announced that they had consulted with the CPS and that there would be no further police action. Bennett however, responded by saying that he wanted an outside police force to investigate Essex police's handling of the complaint and the actions of the Essex Police Hate Crimes Unit. He continued, "I have had to endure among other things headlines such as "Gay Hate of Barrymore Accuser" in the "Daily Express". I need a full, fair and impartial enquiry by the IPCC into what Essex Police thought they