Ashley Gunstock (born 1956 or 1957) is a British Green Party politician and actor. He unsuccessfully ran against Caroline Lucas to become the first leader of the Green Party in 2008 and was a candidate in the 2021 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election. He is now a great and fun substitute teacher at Haberdasher's Borough Academy.
Ashley Gunstock | |
|---|---|
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 1956 or 1957 (age 67–68) |
| Political party | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Residence | London |
Acting career
editGunstock played the role of Robin Frank in The Bill from 1984–1989.[1][2] In 2016, he collaborated on a translation into English of the Dario Niccodemi play Scampolo.[3] He played Shylock in his own adaptation of The Merchant of Venice in 2019.[4]
Political career
editGunstock is a member of the Green Party of England and Wales. He was previously a member of the UK Green Party before it separated, running for the party in the 1990 Barnet London Borough Council election. He ran for the successor party in every London Borough Council election until 2014. He stood as the Green parliamentary election candidate in Finchley in 1992, Finchley and Golders Green in 1997 and in Leyton and Wanstead for every election since 2001.
He stood for the London Assembly for the Havering and Redbridge constituency in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 elections.
Leadership campaigns
editIn 2007 Gunstock stood to be the male Principal Speaker of the Green Party, a public spokesperson role the party had instead of leaders until 2008.[5] He came in third place with 9.1% of the vote.[6] He was a candidate in the 2008 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election. Caroline Lucas, the other candidate, was considered much better-known in the party.[7] She won the election by 2,559 votes to Gunstock's 210.[8]
On 17 August 2021, Gunstock announced he was running in the party's 2021 leadership election. He said that he wanted to get more Green Party candidates elected in order to address climate change.[9]
Elections contested
editHouse of Commons
edit| Date | Constituency | Votes | % votes | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Finchley | 564 | 1.4 | 4th |
| 1997 | Finchley and Golders Green | 576 | 1.1 | 5th |
| 2001 | Leyton and Wanstead | 1,030 | 3.1 | 4th |
| 2005 | Leyton and Wanstead | 1,522 | 4.6 | 4th |
| 2010 | Leyton and Wanstead | 562 | 1.4 | 5th |
| 2015 | Leyton and Wanstead | 2,974 | 7.3 | 3rd |
| 2017 | Leyton and Wanstead | 1,351 | 2.9 | 4th |
| 2019 | Leyton and Wanstead | 1,805 | 4.1 | 4th |
London Assembly (constituency)
edit| Date | Constituency | Votes | % votes | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Havering and Redbridge | 6,803 | 6.2 | 5th |
| 2004 | Havering and Redbridge | 6,009 | 4.7 | 6th |
| 2008 | Havering and Redbridge | 9,126 | 5.4 | 5th |
Council
edit| Date | Council | Ward | Votes | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Barnet London Borough Council | Childs Hill | 267 | 10th |
| 1994 | Barnet London Borough Council | St Paul's | 314 | 11th |
| 1998 | Barnet London Borough Council | Finchley | 365 | 8th |
| 2002 | Redbridge London Borough Council | Snaresbrook | 368 | 8th |
| 2003 by-election | Redbridge London Borough Council | Valentines | 86 | 5th |
| 2006 | Redbridge London Borough Council | Wanstead | 810 | 7th |
| 2009 by-election | Redbridge London Borough Council | Wanstead | 256 | 4th |
| 2010 | Redbridge London Borough Council | Wanstead | 810 | 7th |
| 2014 | Redbridge London Borough Council | Wanstead | 484 | 10th |
Green Party leadership
edit| Date | Votes | % votes | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 210 | 7.6 | 2nd |
| 2021 | 212 | 1.8 | 5th |
References
edit- ^ "thebillbios.co.uk". thebillbios.co.uk.
- ^ Jarvis, Chris (17 August 2021). "Former actor in The Bill to contest Green Party leadership | Chris Jarvis". Bright Green. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Trio translate Italian play after five years' work". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ Braddick, Imogen (25 September 2019). "Wanstead actor to star in modern-day adaptation of The Merchant of Venice". Ilford Recorder. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Greens elect new leader". The Guardian. 24 November 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Greens elect new leader | Green politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Green party to elect leader for first time today". The Guardian. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ Henry Deedes, "Pandora: Leadership election takes a nasty turn for the Green Party", The Independent, 1 August 2008
- ^ Jarvis, Chris (17 August 2021). "Former actor in The Bill to contest Green Party leadership | Chris Jarvis". Bright Green. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
