Rachel Millward
Rachel Hannah Millward is a British politician currently serving as Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales since September 2025, alongside Mothin Ali. She has also served as the Wealden District Councillor for Hartfield since 2021 and co-leader of the council since 2023. Millward is the Green Party candidate for Mayor of Sussex and Brighton in the 2028 mayoral election.
Early life and education
Millward was born on 11 January 1977 in the West Midlands to Maurice and Sheila Millward. She has two sisters and two brothers. Millward attended King Henry VIII School, a private school in Coventry. She then graduated with a bachelor's degree in theology from the University of Oxford in 1999 before completing a master's programme in gender and development from the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town in 2001.Media career
Millward initially worked as a researcher for independent film and television productions. She then founded the Birds Eye View film festival with Pinny Grylls in 2002 to showcase films made by women. Millward served as the festival's director until 2014, and the festival has since evolved into the charity Reclaim the Frame. In August 2006, Millward was nominated as a "world changing woman" by The Guardian for her work with Birds Eye View. In 2009, she was awarded a fellowship by the Clore Duffield Foundation as part of their leadership programme and was nominated in the media category at the Women of the Future awards. From 2014 to 2016, Millward was the arts director at The Old Church in Stoke Newington. She then served as an executive director at Sam Lee's Nest Collective from 2016 to 2020.Political career
Millward ran as the Green Party candidate in the 2021 by-election for the Hartfield seat on Wealden District Council, following the death of councillor Chris Hardy. She won the seat by 122 votes against the Conservative Party candidate Bruce Rainbow, gaining the seat from the Conservatives. Millward retained her seat in the 2023 Wealden District Council election, with an increased majority of 318. She was appointed joint-leader of the council in May 2023 alongside the Liberal Democrat councillor James Partridge, as part of a coalition agreement between the two parties.In July 2023, Millward was selected as the Green Party's prospective candidate for the constituency of Sussex Weald, but withdrew in May 2024 over concerns about being both a parliamentary candidate and leader of the council. In June 2025, Millward announced her candidacy for the Green Party deputy leadership election. Due to Zack Polanski winning the leadership election, Millward and Mothin Ali were elected as joint–deputy leaders, as the Green Party constitution stipulates that if there is a singular leader, there must be two deputy leaders.
In October 2025, Millward was selected as the Green Party candidate for Mayor of Sussex and Brighton for the 2028 mayoral election.