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Eleanor Elizabeth Chowns (born 7 March 1975) is a British Green Party politician, serving as the Member of Parliament for North Herefordshire since 2024. She previously served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the West Midlands for the party from 2019 to 2020. She was a councillor on Herefordshire Council from 2017, representing the Bishops Frome & Cradley ward, and leader of the council's Green group until stepping down following her election to parliament.[3]
Ellie Chowns | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament for North Herefordshire | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Wiggin |
| Majority | 5,894 (11.7%) |
| Member of the European Parliament for West Midlands | |
| In office 2 July 2019[1][2] – 31 January 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Siôn Simon |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of Herefordshire Council for Bishops Frome & Cradley | |
| In office 3 May 2019 – 20 September 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 March 1975 Chertsey, Surrey, England |
| Political party | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Alma mater | |
| Website | elliechowns |
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Chowns was born on 7 March 1975 in Chertsey.[4] She studied geography, environmental studies, and development studies at the University of Sussex, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1997. She then undertook a one-year Master of Professional Studies (MProf) degree in sustainable development at the University of Middlesex, graduating in 1998. She later undertook doctoral research in international development at the University of Birmingham. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 2014, with a doctoral thesis titled "The political economy of community management: a study of factors influencing sustainability in Malawi's rural water supply sector".[5][6]
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She is a specialist in international development, having worked for charities such as Voluntary Service Overseas and Christian Aid and as a lecturer at the University of Birmingham.[5]
Chowns got involved in politics in 2015.[7] In 2017 she was elected as a councillor on Herefordshire Council, and became the leader of the Green group. In the May 2019 Herefordshire Council elections, Chowns was re-elected onto Herefordshire Council with 78.6% of the vote.
European parliament
Chowns was elected as an MEP in the 2019 European elections, winning 10.66% of the vote share. In the same election, the Green Party won 7 MEPs, up from 3.[8]
Extinction Rebellion
Chowns was arrested on 14 October 2019 in Trafalgar Square defending the rights of Extinction Rebellion protesters to continue. She was released pending investigation, and later was one of the claimants to challenge the legality of the Section 14 order under which she was arrested. On 6 November 2019 the High Court ruled this blanket use of Section 14 by the Metropolitan Police was unlawful.[9] Chowns declined to sue the Metropolitan Police for unlawful arrest, but declared the ruling to be a "victory for the right to peaceful assembly and protest, two cornerstones of our democracy".[10]
House of Commons
Chowns stood as the Green candidate for North Herefordshire, a safe seat for the Conservatives, in the 2017 General Election, securing 5.5% of the vote. In the 2019 General Election, she won 9.3% of the vote share, the 6th highest Green vote share in the country and the highest of any seat where there was no Unite to Remain alliance.[11]
In the 2024 General Election, Chowns was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for North Herefordshire with 21,736 votes (43.2%) and a majority of 5,894 over the second-placed Conservative candidate, Sir Bill Wiggin.[12] She overturned a significant Conservative majority and unseated the incumbent Wiggin with a swing of +34.4% as compared to the 2019 election.[13] Alongside Siân Berry and Green co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, she was one of the first five Green MPs in UK history; the first, Caroline Lucas, retired from the Commons in 2024.
On 18 July 2024, Chowns made her maiden speech in the House of Commons during a debate on foreign affairs and defence.[14]
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Chowns is a member of Giving What We Can, a community of people who have pledged to give at least 10% of their income to effective charities.[15]
- Chowns, Ellie (October 2015). "Is Community Management an Efficient and Effective Model of Public Service Delivery? Lessons from the Rural Water Supply Sector in Malawi" (PDF). Public Administration and Development. 35 (4): 263–276. doi:10.1002/pad.1737.
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