Carla Denyer

MP for Bristol Central

Green

Carla Denyer is the Green Party MP for Bristol Central, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Denyer won 24,539 votes, representing 56.6% of the vote. The Labour Party candidate, Thangam Debbonaire, received 14,132 votes (32.6%), while the Conservative Party candidate, Samuel Williams, secured 1,998 votes (4.6%). Denyer was duly elected with a majority of 10,407 votes.

The Bristol Central constituency is located in South West England. It was newly created ahead of the 2024 general election, largely replacing the former Bristol West constituency.

Denyer’s immediate predecessor was Thangam Debbonaire of the Labour Party. Debbonaire represented the Bristol West seat from 2015 to 2024. She was shadow culture secretary at the time of her defeat in 2024 and was subsequently elevated to the peerage as Baroness Debbonaire.

Political Career

Denyer served as co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) from October 2021 to September 2025. She served alongside Adrian Ramsay, who was also elected as an MP in 2024.

In October 2021, Denyer and Ramsay were elected as Green co-leaders on a platform of “professionalising” the party’s electoral machine. Denyer and Ramsay’s ticket defeated Amelia Womack and Tamsin Omond by 6,273 votes to 3,902.

Denyer and Ramsay’s tenure as Green co-leaders coincided with a period of significant electoral advancement. In the 2022 local elections the Green Party made a net gain of 71 seats. A year later, the Greens gained overall control of their first council, Mid Suffolk District Council, in the 2023 local elections. Mid Suffolk had previously been a minority Tory administration, reflecting the Greens’ appealing rural areas. The party gained more than 200 councillors across England, winning a record 481 council seats nationwide. It became the largest party on East Hertfordshire District Council, Lewes District Council and Warwick District Council.

The Greens achieved their best ever local elections results in 2024, winning a projected national vote share of 13% and a net gain of 74 seats. This took the party’s total presence in local government to 838. In Bristol, the party fell narrowly short of taking overall control, winning 34 of the 70 seats.

Under Denyer and Ramsay’s leadership, the Greens won a historic four seats at the 2024 general election. The result followed years of targeted campaigning, focusing the party’s resources on four specific constituencies, Brighton Pavilion, Bristol Central, Waveney Valley and North Herefordshire.

The 2024 general election manifesto foreword, penned by Denyer and Ramsay, argued that despite Britain’s wealth, “nurses are using food banks, our children’s schools are crumbling, a roof over our heads is all too often unaffordable, and a hospital appointment or a dentist is like gold dust.”

Denyer and Ramsay called for the creation of a “greener, fairer country… in which we are all safer, happier and more fulfilled.”

They added: “The solutions to the climate crisis are the same as those needed to end the cost of living and inequality crises, making the future not just more liveable but fairer for us all too.”

In May 2025, Denyer announced her decision to step back from the leadership, choosing to focus on being the “best MP I can be, in parliament and in Bristol Central.”

Denyer now serves as a Green spokesperson for immigration, energy and net zero, science, innovation and technology and women and equalities (all since July 2024).

In November 2025, Denyer was one of 34 cross-party MPs and peers who signed a letter to Ofcom demanding an investigation into the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The letter, led by Joani Reid, chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on antisemitism, called on the regulator to determine whether the platform was in breach of its legal duties under the Online Safety Act following a reported surge in antisemitic content and calls for violence against Jews on X.

Denyer is a member of the House of Commons environmental audit (since October 2025) – the commons select committee that acts as parliament’s primary cross-departmental watchdog on environmental issues. The EAC has a wide-ranging remit to examine how the policies and programmes of all government departments and public bodies impact environmental protection and sustainable development.

Denyer is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for climate change (vice-chair).

Before entering parliament, Denyer served as a Green councillor on Bristol City Council from May 2015 to May 2024.

Denyer delivered her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 18 July 2024 during a debate on foreign affairs and defence.

In it, she said: “What unites all these threads is the idea of speaking up for what we believe in regardless of whether others might find it contentious, or whether we are swimming against the popular tide.

“As an MP, I am determined to fully honour Bristol Central’s history of doing exactly that: using my voice as a force for good, for real change and for real hope, to create a brighter future for my constituents and for us all – the kind of future that the king’s speech represents an opportunity to build.

“That bright future depends on the government taking bold action to tackle inequality and poverty through measures such as lifting the two-child benefit cap, a mass council-house building programme, and giving councils the power to keep private rents under control.”

She added: “The last government sought to break the climate consensus, to weaponise culture wars and to spread lies and misinformation about what a net zero future will be like. This government must reverse the damage and have the courage to show genuine climate leadership at this critical time in our planet’s history.”

As a councillor, Denyer proposed the motion which led to Bristol City Council declaring a climate emergency in November 2018, the first such declaration by a British council.

At the time, Denyer said: “This is a fantastic day for Bristol and I’m delighted the council will be bringing forward its target for making the city carbon neutral by 2030.”

Denyer previously stood for parliament in the Bristol West constituency in the 2019 general election, coming second to Debbonaire. She also stood unsuccessfully in the 2019 European Parliament election for the South West England region.

Political views

The Greens are an environmentalist and progressive political party positioned on the left of British politics.

The party’s foundational ideological beliefs are set out in its official core values and “philosophical basis”. This latter document outlines the aims and beliefs of the party, providing the basis on which all its policies are agreed.

The opening to the Green Party’s philosophical basis states: “A system based on inequality and exploitation is threatening the future of the planet on which we depend, and encouraging reckless and environmentally damaging consumerism.

“A world based on cooperation and democracy would prioritise the many, not the few, and would not risk the planet’s future with environmental destruction and unsustainable consumption.”

The Greens’ 10-point statement of core values commits the party to “social and environmental justice, which supports a radical transformation of society for the benefit of all, and for the planet as a whole.”

The party’s 2024 general election manifesto, branded with the slogan “Real hope. Real change”, focused heavily on the cost of living and affordability.

Denyer is listed as one of activist group Green New Deal Rising’s “cross-party green new deal champions”. GNDR is a progressive campaign organisation which promotes rapid decarbonisation and the transformation of the UK economy with a “Green New Deal” – a long-term plan to tackle climate change with large-scale public investment in renewable energy, green infrastructure and public services.

Denyer is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for fair elections – a cross-party group of MPs and peers that campaigns for electoral reform. The group’s stated aims include replacing the first past the post (FPTP) voting system with a form of proportional representation, eliminating “dark money” and “undemocratic influence” from politics, and countering disinformation.

In May 2026, Denyer signed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, calling on the government to establish a “national commission on electoral reform”. Tabled by Alex Sobel as chair of the fair elections APPG, the amendment aimed to force a rethink of the first past the post voting system.

At the time, Sobel described FPTP as “one of the biggest examples of a broken status quo in UK politics.” He invited colleagues to join this “common sense call to take a fresh look at how parliament is elected in modern Britain.”

In December 2024, Denyer voted in favour of the Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill – introduced by Liberal Democrat frontbencher Sarah Olney under the 10-minute rule procedure. The bill sought to “introduce a system of proportional representation for parliamentary elections and for local government elections in England”.

A total of 138 MPs supported the bill – with 136 opposed. Notably, 59 Labour MPs backed Olney’s bill.

Introducing the bill, Olney told the House: “First past the post is a broken and unfair system. This summer, the Labour party won a landslide election victory, securing 63% of seats in the House of Commons in return for just 34% of the vote.

“The system leaves millions of voices unheard and creates a divisive, adversarial political climate where collaboration is discouraged and accountability is often sidestepped.”

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Denyer voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the 10-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Welfare

Winter fuel payment EDM: In September 2024, Denyer signed an early day motion (EDM) expressing concern over the government’s proposed changes to the winter fuel payment. The motion called on the government to “postpone the ending of winter fuel payments and establish a comprehensive strategy to tackle fuel poverty, health inequality and low incomes among older people.”

Assisted dying

Denyer voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Denyer voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Lying amendment: In January 2026, Denyer was listed as a supporter of an amendment to the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, often referred to as the “Hillsborough Law”, that would extend the proposed criminal offence of misleading the public to include MPs and peers. Luke Myer, the Labour MP behind the proposal, argued that his amendment would mean “no-one in parliament would be above the law”, adding: “If politicians deliberately lie to the public, there should be consequences.”

Myer stated: “This amendment is a proportionate, carefully safeguarded response to a real democratic risk. It is not about stifling debate or political disagreement, it is about ensuring that those who seek or hold public office cannot deliberately and knowingly mislead the public without consequence.

“The polling shows that voters across the political spectrum expect parliament to act.”

Myer’s amendment won the support of 30 cross-party MPs.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Denyer was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

Palestine Action vote: Also in July 2025, Denyer was one of 26 MPs to vote against the proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000. The ban, passed by 385 votes to 26, came after the Home Office accused the group of “aggressive and intimidatory attacks against businesses, institutions and the public”. However, civil liberties organisations argued proscription represented an overreach of state power and a threat to the right to protest.

Before Politics

Born on 24 September 1985, Denyer grew up interested in political campaigning. She studied mechanical engineering at St Chad’s College, Durham University.

After graduating, Denyer worked as an engineer in the renewable energy sector from 2009, employed by Bristol-based consultancy GL Garrad Hassan.