Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales group. In September 2008 Caroline Lucas was elected as the party's first leader. Lucas was reelected in 2010 but chose not to stand in 2012, when Natalie Bennett was elected her successor. After Bennett stood down in 2016 Lucas returned as leader, this time sharing the position with Jonathan Bartley. Prior to 1992 six principal speakers were elected annually. The Female Principal Speaker post was won by Siân Berry, without a contest. The Female Principal Speaker post was won by Caroline Lucas, without a contest. Not all regions of the Green Party used the Principal Speaker system. In particular, the
Ernest Bennett (politician) and Austria-Hungary. By virtue of his marriage into the Kleinwort dynasty (of which more presently), Bennett had acquired a significant German dimension to his family. He was anxious to avoid another war, especially one which would involve strife within his new enlarged family. Through his involvement with the Labour Party, Bennett became close to Ramsay MacDonald, Labour Party leader from 1922–1935. MacDonald was likewise opposed to the terms of the Versailles Treaty, and sought to mollify them in his first brief period as Prime Minister of the short lived Labour government in 1924. Bennett was also friendly with Philip Snowden,