Mike Woodin

Summary

Michael Edward Woodin (6 November 1965 – 9 July 2004) was the Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales and a city councillor for Oxford from 1994 to 2004. He was Principal Speaker for six of the eight years between 1998 and 2004, firstly alongside Jean Lambert before her election as an MEP, then alongside Margaret Wright, and lastly with Caroline Lucas MEP.

Michael Edward Woodin
Mike Woodin
Principal Speaker of the Green Party
In office
2003 – 9 July 2004
Serving with Caroline Lucas
Preceded byDarren Johnson
Succeeded byKeith Taylor
In office
1997–2001
Serving with
Preceded byDavid Taylor
Succeeded byDarren Johnson
Oxford City Councillor for Carfax Ward
In office
9 June 1994 – 9 July 2004
Succeeded bySushila Dhall
Personal details
Born6 November 1965
Hartley, Kent, England
Died9 July 2004(2004-07-09) (aged 38)
Oxford, England
Resting placeWolvercote Cemetery, Oxford
Political partyGreen Party of England and Wales
Alma mater

He was educated at Gravesend Grammar School, Victoria University of Manchester, and Wolfson College, Oxford. He was lecturer in Psychology at Balliol College.

Biography edit

 
Cllr Sushila Dhall pictured in November 2007, in Woodin's Way near Oxford Castle, named after her friend the late councillor Mike Woodin.

Woodin was one of the first Green Party city councillors elected in England and was Leader of the Green Party Group on Oxford City Council. He stood for the Green party in Oxford West and Abingdon in the 1992, 1997, and 2001 general elections. He was listed as Green Party's second candidate in South East England for the European Parliament elections in 1999 and 2004 after Caroline Lucas.

Woodin and Lucas co-authored the book Green Alternatives to Globalisation: A Manifesto,[1] and a booklet against the single currency Euro: The Euro or a Sustainable Future for Britain?.[2]

 
Mike Woodin's gravestone in Wolvercote Cemetery, with a juvenile robin perching on it

Woodin died in 2004 of secondary cancer of the lungs, despite being a lifelong non-smoker and keen observant of healthy living. At his funeral, his coffin was towed by bicycle through the streets of Oxford,[3] in accordance with his wishes for the event to be car-free. His early death was considered a tragedy for the resurgent Green movement in the United Kingdom.

References edit

  1. ^ Woodin, Mike; Lucas, Caroline (2004). Green Alternatives to Globalisation: A Manifesto. Pluto Press. ISBN 9780745319322. (paperback ISBN 0-7453-1932-7, hardcover ISBN 0-7453-1933-5)
  2. ^ "The Euro or a Sustainable Future for Britain?" (PDF). 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2004.
    Woodin, Mike; Lucas, Caroline (2000). The Euro or a Sustainable Future for Britain?. New Europe 2000. ISBN 9780953576074.
  3. ^ Jenkins, Stephanie. "Mike Woodin's funeral cortège in Oxford's Broad Street". Retrieved 12 March 2016.

External links edit

  • Fitz-Gibbon, Spencer (12 July 2004). "Mike Woodin". The Independent.
  • Lucas, Caroline (14 July 2004). "Mike Woodin". The Guardian. Guardian Media Trust.
  • "Mike Woodin Green Trust". Oxfordshire Green Party. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013.
  • "Jews for Justice for Palestinians – two peoples, one future". Jews Against Racist Zionism. 1 October 2013.
Political offices
Preceded by Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales
1997–2001
Succeeded by
Preceded by Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales
2003–2004
Succeeded by