Green Party announces Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley as co-leaders

The Green Party has announced its new leaders as Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley.

The pair were elected as joint co-leaders of the party with 84% of the vote at its autumn conference in Birmingham.

Ms Lucas is the Green's sole MP and will share the role with the party's work and pensions spokesperson.

The pair have spoken of wanting to form a "progressive alliance" with Labour and others, not to stand candidates against each other to stop the Conservatives being elected.

They also thanked former leader Natalie Bennett for her "steady leadership, energy, and tireless campaigning".

Amelia Womack was elected as deputy leader of the party after two-years in the role.

The leadership contest was triggered when Ms Bennett, announced she was stepping down in May, saying that she is not a "spin-trained, lifelong politician".

In their first joint speech as leaders Ms Lucas and Mr Bartley attacked ongoing Brexit talks saying: "We cannot accept a Brexit deal that does not offer hope and security to both those who voted Leave and those who voted to Remain.

"The environmental protections, workers’ rights & free movement that EU has delivered must be at heart of any future outside Europe."

They also called for a second referendum on the details of a Brexit deal, and said that the divisions exposed in the EU referendum could only be solved by reforming the electoral system.

The pair also spoke of "taking back control" of the banking system, schools, communities and the energy system, and called for an end to the use of fossil fuels, nuclear energy and fracking.

Caroline Lucas has been the MP for Brighton Pavilion since 2010.