Fermanagh and south Tyrone Green Party representative Tanya Jones has been named deputy leader of the Green Party.

She was elected as deputy leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland following a membership vote earlier today (Sunday 01 October 2017).

Ms. Jones who stood in the 2015 and 2017 General Elections and in the 2016 and 2017 Assembly elections will fill the role vacated by Clare Bailey who decided to step aside from a role that she held for three years.

Tanya Jones is a writer, former solicitor and well known anti-fracking activist. Tanya is chair of the Fermanagh and South Tyrone Green Party and lives with her family in Enniskillen.

She stated: “I’ve been a member of the Green Party for thirteen years, the past eleven of them in Northern Ireland, living in Enniskillen. I’ve seen the party grow immensely during that time in terms of membership and elected representatives and the clarity and confidence of our voice in the public arena.

“Here in Northern Ireland, the Green Party has led the way on many, initially unpopular campaigns, the first to call for marriage equality, a ban on dangerous fracking, the decriminalisation of abortion, a referendum on the final Brexit deal and a new civic conversation to renew and revitalise the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.

“I am immensely proud to represent a party with such courage and vision, combined with detailed policy based on reliable evidence."

Green Party leader Steven Agnew added:“I am confident that Tanya Jones will make a huge contribution as deputy chair of the Green Party. Tanya is an activist through and through and her strong sense of social justice is recognised and valued inside and outside of the party."