History of the Green Party of England and Wales of Deputy Leader. The Green Party fielded more than 300 candidates for the 2010 general election. Caroline Lucas became the first Green candidate to gain a seat in Westminster, after being elected MP for Brighton Pavilion by a margin of 1,252 votes. The following week 600 new members had joined the Green Party bringing total membership to over 11,000. In previous years 600 new members was high for a whole year. On 24 May 2012, the six Green Party councillors elected to Stroud District Council formed a power sharing administration (a "constructive cooperation") with both the Labour Party and the
Bethnal Green and Bow (UK Parliament constituency) community in the constituency but nevertheless supported by their MP Oona King, the newly formed Respect coalition gained support. They topped the poll in Tower Hamlets in the 2004 European Parliamentary elections and subsequently won their first local council seat at a by-election. In the May 2005 general election, the seat was a narrow victory for ex-Labour MP George Galloway, one of Respect's leading figures. Respect also won seats at the 2006 local council elections although its performance was not as strong as many observers believed it could have been. Galloway attracted criticism for lack of attendance at Parliament, especially