By popular demand, my closing speech to Greens of Colour hustings.

CW - initiating a difficult conversation around whether the Party has a problem with very idea of an ethnic minority leader. #RealityCheck
I think that in politics as in life, it's important to have a proper sense of your own worth. I hope nobody would dispute that. I see great confidence in the candidates before me for good reason. I share that confidence in myself.
Let me show you a couple of things that I've done during my time in the party [picks up and shows two bestselling books in green politics]. I know policy inside out, I've given lots of talks and I've represented the party in the media.
It's not particularly nice to be told by a senior officer of the party that I should be RON'ed. It's doubly offensive perhaps to be told that other candidates should be RON'ed. We are worthy candidates.
CW: But I put it to you that the complete lack of cognisance that somebody who could be your first BME leader of a major political party should be RON'ed actually does demonstrate something which is fundamentally wrong with the Party.
Yes, I know my own worth and I am worthy - as good as the next candidate here - of your serious attention.
One of the candidates also spoke about the fact that they wouldn't speak for you but would let you have your voices raised. I think you're looking at the candidate who can do both.
I want to be that candidate who can both raise your voice and reflect it and project it externally, bring people into the party beyond our comfort zone. And, indeed, to speak for you.
#RealityCheck

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More from @ShahrarAli

13 Sep
My response to @LGBTIQAGreens leadership candidate pledge request now available here electshahrar.co.uk/shahrar-ali-on… and pdf here shahrar-ali.squarespace.com/s/LGBTIQA-Pled…. Few of my answers highlighted in thread below. Keira Bell, 23, who was prescribed puberty blockers at age 1
@LGBTIQAGreens I have chosen to elaborate upon my answers as I believe that Yes/No answers offer limited insight into, or fail to do justice to, often-complex matters.
@LGBTIQAGreens #2. "Promise to recognise non-binary identities are valid and promise to ensure they are recognised in internal processes and in wider society."
Before making such a promise, I would welcome a conversation in which we could define our terms and clarify the meaning of this pledge.
Read 14 tweets
11 Sep
Reflection from @ShahrarAli twenty years on from #September11 - from Coalition of Willing & Guantanamo to Shoot to Kill & domestic extremism, politicians have failed us internationally & nationally. Watch full statement here
September 11th – twenty years to the day. 2,977 people killed in a grotesque, unconscionable act of mass terroristic murder. Pure evil.
“Where were you when it happened?” Alas, many did not have the luxury of even knowing that it had happened but were soon to face the consequences of years, if not decades of failed foreign policy, or worse.
Read 12 tweets
1 Sep
Eve of Leadership Ballot: Open Letter from Shahrar Ali (personal not official GPEW) to Siân Berry. A courteous appeal to Siân on her Negative Voting Announcement, Resignation Letter & Fostering Active Debate. #RealityCheck @sianberry
Can also be read here electshahrar.co.uk/shahrar-ali-op… Open Letter from Shahrar Ali to Siân Berry - Page 1 - NegatOpen Letter from Shahrar Ali to Siân Berry - Page 2 - your Open Letter from Shahrar Ali to Siân Berry - Page 3 - FosteOpen Letter from Shahrar Ali to Siân Berry - Page 4 - unsol
PDF statement also here electshahrar.co.uk/s/Shahrar-Ali-…. Edited thread follows. #RealityCheck
Negative voting in Leadership elections

I was disappointed and upset to see you (Siân) actively campaigning yesterday (31 August) against three of the leadership candidates, including me, by publicly advocating that members should place RON ahead of us.
Read 30 tweets
30 Aug
Watch: Shahrar Ali on necessity for fostering mature debate on women's sex-based rights - for its own sake & to help make us credible political force on climate emergency. We need to be reality-based in all our policies. #RealityCheck 👇
One of key planks of my campaign, as some of you I hoipe will have noticed, is women's rights. And I deliberately talk about it as women's rights. This party has become hostile to women who want to talk about the threats that they feel towards their single sex or same-sex spaces.
We have to be at the forefront of politics in this increasingly hostile environment, to say no, we can have a mature debate. There's nothing transphobic about talking about the protected characteristic of sex as enshrined in the Equality Act.
Read 7 tweets
17 Aug
Coverage @guardian focusing on "culture of open debate, where taking of offence not used as means to prevent those who do wish to debate from doing so”: Shahrar Ali’s selection as spokesperson was behind former co-leader Siân Berry’s decision to step down theguardian.com/politics/2021/…
Ali, a former party deputy leader, said: “It’s a very difficult debate to have reasonably, calmly and thoughtfully, and that’s all I’ve ever done and sought to do."
“In any arena of equalities, if you’ve got a group of people who feel they are affected by claims of another group of people, that requires negotiation."
Read 4 tweets
17 Aug
REALITY CHECK: Shahrar Ali standing for Leader of @TheGreenParty to prioritise
✅ Climate & Ecological Emergency 💚
✅ Debating Culture - internal & external 👏
✅ Welcome Women Back! 💚
#RealityCheck #WelcomeWomenBack Join 👉 join.greenparty.org.uk by 27 Aug to Vote ❎ Shahrar Ali standing as Leader of Green Party of England & W
@TheGreenParty "I’ve been political for as long as I can remember. As a child, when I’ve asked my parents why people in faraway lands fought with one another it must have been out of incredulity that a planet, which bore such riches, could be cause for any kind of disharmony."
@TheGreenParty "Why didn’t people just get on? Though older and wiser about widespread inequality, this question still bugs me today – whether in awe of the mechanics of our planetary ecosystem or fascinated by human nature and motivation."
Read 14 tweets

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