Rachel Millward
Rachel Millward | |
|---|---|
Millward in 2025 | |
| Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales | |
| Assumed office 2 September 2025 Serving with Mothin Ali | |
| Leader | Zack Polanski |
| Preceded by | Zack Polanski |
| Deputy Leader of Wealden District Council[a] | |
| Assumed office 14 May 2025 Serving with James Partridge | |
| In office 24 May 2023 – 15 May 2024 Serving with James Partridge | |
| Preceded by | Philip Lunn |
| Leader of Wealden District Council[a] | |
| In office 15 May 2024 – 14 May 2025 Serving with James Partridge | |
| Preceded by | Ann Newton |
| Wealden District Councillor for Hartfield | |
| Assumed office 2 December 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Chris Hardy |
| Majority | 318 (25.8%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rachel Hannah Millward 11 January 1977 West Midlands, England |
| Party | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | King Henry VIII School |
| Alma mater | St Hugh's College, Oxford (BA) University of Cape Town (MA) |
Rachel Hannah Millward (born 11 January 1977) is a British politician currently serving as Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales since September 2025, alongside Mothin Ali.[3] She has also served as the Wealden District Councillor for Hartfield since 2021 and co-leader of the council since 2023.[4] Millward is the Green Party candidate for Mayor of Sussex and Brighton in the 2028 mayoral election.[5][6]
Early life and education
Millward was born on 11 January 1977 in the West Midlands to Maurice and Sheila Millward.[7][8][9] She has two sisters and two brothers.[10] Millward attended King Henry VIII School, a private school in Coventry.[11] She then graduated with a bachelor's degree in theology from the University of Oxford in 1999 before completing a master's programme in gender and development from the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town in 2001.[12][13]
Media career
Millward initially worked as a researcher for independent film and television productions.[13] She then founded the Birds Eye View film festival with Pinny Grylls in 2002 to showcase films made by women.[13][14] Millward served as the festival's director until 2014, and the festival has since evolved into the charity Reclaim the Frame.[15] In August 2006, Millward was nominated as a "world changing woman" by The Guardian for her work with Birds Eye View.[16] In 2009, she was awarded a fellowship by the Clore Duffield Foundation as part of their leadership programme and was nominated in the media category at the Women of the Future awards.[17][18] From 2014 to 2016, Millward was the arts director at The Old Church in Stoke Newington.[12][19] She then served as an executive director at Sam Lee's Nest Collective from 2016 to 2020.[12]
Political career
Millward ran as the Green Party candidate in the 2021 by-election for the Hartfield seat on Wealden District Council, following the death of councillor Chris Hardy.[20] She won the seat by 122 votes against the Conservative Party candidate Bruce Rainbow, gaining the seat from the Conservatives.[21] Millward retained her seat in the 2023 Wealden District Council election, with an increased majority of 318.[22] She was appointed joint-leader of the council in May 2023 alongside the Liberal Democrat councillor James Partridge, as part of a coalition agreement between the two parties.[23][24][25]
In July 2023, Millward was selected as the Green Party's prospective candidate for the constituency of Sussex Weald, but withdrew in May 2024 over concerns about being both a parliamentary candidate and leader of the council.[1][26] In June 2025, Millward announced her candidacy for the Green Party deputy leadership election.[27] Due to Zack Polanski winning the leadership election, Millward and Mothin Ali were elected as joint–deputy leaders, as the Green Party constitution stipulates that if there is a singular leader, there must be two deputy leaders.[3][28]
In October 2025, Millward was selected as the Green Party candidate for Mayor of Sussex and Brighton for the 2028 mayoral election.[6]
Personal life
Millward lives in Hartfield with her husband and two children.[20] Her elder daughter was born on the opening day of the 2010 Birds Eye View film festival.[13]
Electoral performance
Wealden District Council
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | Rachel Millward | 774 | 62.9 | +19.8 | |
| Conservative | Janie Robinson | 456 | 37.1 | −19.8 | |
| Majority | 318 | 25.8 | |||
| Turnout | 1,230 | 43.2 | +7.4 | ||
| Green hold | Swing | +19.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | Rachel Millward | 589 | 55.8 | +12.7 | |
| Conservative | Bruce Rainbow | 467 | 44.2 | −12.7 | |
| Majority | 122 | 11.6 | |||
| Turnout | 1,056 | ||||
| Green gain from Conservative | Swing | +25.4 | |||
Deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ||||
| Green | Mothin Ali | 33.51% | 5,366 | 5,337.67 | ||||||
| Green | Rachel Millward | 22.83% | 3,656 | 3,665.36 | 3,685.42 | 3,712.56 | 3,854.01 | 4,260.24 | 5,003.24 | |
| Green | Frank Adlington-Stringer | 16.03% | 2,567 | 2,570.82 | 2,583.84 | 2,618.02 | 2,839.60 | 3,274.42 | 3,642.42 | |
| Green | Antoinette Fernandez | 9.09% | 1,455 | 1,460.96 | 1,480.01 | 1,516.10 | 1,683.86 | 1,997.67 | 7.67 | |
| Green | Ani Townsend | 8.46% | 1,355 | 1,358.43 | 1,368.47 | 1,397.58 | 1,654.18 | 0 | ||
| Green | Alex Mace | 3.43% | 549 | 550.41 | 557.43 | 575.51 | 0 | |||
| Green | Ashley Routh | 3.28% | 526 | 527.70 | 535.73 | 549.80 | 0 | |||
| Green | Thomas Daw | 1.52% | 243 | 243.87 | 251.87 | 0 | ||||
| Green | Chas Warlow | 1.00% | 160 | 160.30 | 0 | |||||
| Re-open nominations | 0.86% | 136 | 137.44 | 145.47 | 148.50 | 166.65 | 222.86 | 287.86 | ||
| Exhausted votes | 0 | 0.99 | 67.05 | 157.21 | 476.99 | 920.12 | 1734.12 | |||
| Valid: 16,013 Quota: 5,337.67 Turnout: 16,013 | ||||||||||
References
- ^ a b "Wealden District Council has elected a new leader for the coming year". SussexWorld. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Your Councillors". Wealden District Council.
- ^ a b Corry, Paul (2 September 2025). "Green Party members elect two councillors as deputy leaders". Green Party of England and Wales. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Councillor details – Councillor Rachel Millward". Wealden District Council. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Sussex and Brighton devolution consultation". Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government. 17 February 2025. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ a b Wright, Charlotte (5 October 2025). "'We're zooming up the fast-track' – Greens". BBC News. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
- ^ "Rachel Hannah MILLWARD personal appointments". GOV.UK. Companies House. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ Millward, Rachel. "Rachel Millward official website". Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ Millward, Rachel [@millward_rachel]; (11 January 2026). "*The clocks in our world have stopped. The great oak of our forest has fallen.* My absolute bloody legend of a Dad, Maurice Millward, died here at home with us, quite out the blue, last Tuesday. He moved in exactly a year ago today, my birthday - such a privilege to have had him tucked in with us for this year, whilst he gradually shed all his worries, and replaced them with jigsaws and pud-pud. And what an honour to have held his hands whilst he let go of the final, ultimate fear". Retrieved 13 January 2026 – via Instagram.
- ^ "Maurice Millward (1931-2026)". Presto Music. 12 January 2026. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
- ^ "Former Pupils". King Henry VIII School. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
- ^ a b c Millward, Rachel. "Rachel Millward". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Rachel Millward". One Hundred Women. September 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "History". Birds Eye View. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Reclaim the Frame celebrates 20 year anniversary". British Cinematographer. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ Clouting, Lucy (21 August 2006). "Simply the best". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Clore Fellows – 2009 Cohort". Clore Leadership Programme. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Women of the Future Awards shortlist 2009". Women of the Future Awards UK. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ Bartholomew, Emma (23 February 2016). "Sing along with Ansuman Biswas at Stoke Newington Old Church... for 24 hours". Hackney Gazette. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b "Rachel Millward – Green Party Councillor for Hartfield". Wealden Green Party. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b Scott, Trevor (2 December 2021). "Declaration of Result of Poll – Wealden District Council – Hartfield Ward" (PDF). Wealden District Council. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b Scott, Trevor (5 May 2023). "Election of a District Councillor for Hartfield". Wealden District Council. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Wealden District Council: Lib Dem and Green Coalition". Politics UK. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "The Green Party takes its turn for the leadership of Wealden District Council". The Heathfield News. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Wealden to be run by Green and Lib Dem alliance after Tory election defeat". BBC News. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Introducing current deputy leader of Wealden district council, Cllr Rachel Millward, as our Green parliamentary candidate for the Sussex Weald constituency". Wealden Green Party via Facebook. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ Oxburgh, Huw (11 June 2025). "Wealden councillor seeks election to national Green Party post". SussexWorld. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ Jarvis, Chris (9 June 2025). "Everything you need to know about the Green Party leadership election". Bright Green. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "The Winners". Green Party. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
Notes
- ^ a b The Liberal Democrats and Green Party run the council in a coalition, in which Millward and the Liberal Democrat James Partridge swap leader and deputy roles every year in a de facto co-leadership.[1][2]