Noel Lynch (20 January 1947 – 3 August 2021) was an Irish politician living in England and a member of the
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; cy, Plaid Werdd Cymru a Lloegr, kw, Party Gwer Pow an Sowson ha Kembra, often simply the Green Party or Greens) is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla ...
. He represented the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
on the
London Assembly
The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...
between 2 May 2003 and 10 June 2004, after replacing
Victor Anderson who resigned. Due to a fall in the
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
vote, he did not retain his seat at the
2004 London Assembly election, leaving
Darren Johnson and
Jenny Jones Jenny Jones may refer to:
People
*Jenny Jones (presenter) (born 1946), United States television personality and host of ''The Jenny Jones Show''
*Jenny Jones, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (born 1949), British Green Party politician, member of the ...
as the remaining members of the
London Assembly
The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...
Green Group
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
. He was Co-ordinator of the
London Federation of Green Parties.
Early life and career
Lynch grew up in
Kilmallock
Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are sti ...
,
County Limerick
"Remember Limerick"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Munster
, subdivision ...
, in Ireland before moving to London in 1986. He was the convenor of the London Federation of Green Parties and Co-Convenor of the Green Party Trade Union Group. Lynch owned a shop that was described 'as the most interesting in London' by Time Out Magazine.
Lynch's first experience of electoral politics was when he contested the
Limerick West constituency as an Independent in the
1969 Irish General Election
The 1969 Irish general election to the 19th Dáil was held on Wednesday, 18 June, following the Dissolution of Parliament, dissolution of the 18th Dáil on 22 May by President of Ireland, President Éamon de Valera on the request of Taoiseach Ja ...
.
Lynch was active in community politics in
Finchley
Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross.
Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...
. He was also a founder member of ''The Archer'', a community newspaper for the N2 area, and he founded the East Finchley Traders Association. He was on the Administrative Committee of the
Finchley Society and spent six years as a voluntary adviser with the East Finchley Advice Centre. Before becoming a member of the
London Assembly
The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...
, he worked for the No-Euro campaign. In addition, he was the founder of an independent newspaper, ''London Green News''.
Within the Green Party, Lynch founded the Green Party Trade Union Group and the London Internationals Group. He chaired the London-Irish Green Group and the
London Green Party
The London Green Party is the regional party of the Green Party of England and Wales that operates in Greater London.
Current representatives
London Assembly Members
* Caroline Russell - Leader of the City Hall Greens
* Siân Berry
* Zack Po ...
Animal Rights Group.
Lynch was fourth on the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
's
list of candidates for the Top-Up (
Additional Member System) seats at the
2000 London Assembly elections (11 seats elected by proportional representation). Three Green Party Assembly Members -
Darren Johnson,
Jenny Jones Jenny Jones may refer to:
People
*Jenny Jones (presenter) (born 1946), United States television personality and host of ''The Jenny Jones Show''
*Jenny Jones, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (born 1949), British Green Party politician, member of the ...
and
Victor Anderson - were elected to Top-Up seats. In May 2003, Anderson resigned and was replaced by Lynch. In the
2004 London Assembly election, the Green vote share in the top-up seats election fell from 11.1% in 2000 to 8.37% in 2004, meaning that the party lost their third seat, held by Lynch, leaving Johnson and Jones as the remaining members of the
London Assembly
The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...
Green Group.
As an
Assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
Member, Lynch was a member of the
London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority
The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) was a functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA), established under the Greater London Authority Act 1999. Its principal purpose was to run the London Fire Brigade. The 17 members ...
(LFEPA), the
Metropolitan Police Authority
The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) (2000–2012) was the local police authority responsible for scrutinising and supporting the work of the Metropolitan Police Service, the police force for Greater London (excluding the City of London Police ...
, the Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee, the Planning and Spatial Development Committee, the Health Committee and the Standards Committee (of which he was Chair). He focused on health issues, the homeless, GM crops, fluoride, the aged, disability issues and animal rights. He campaigned successfully to save Cricklewood Homeless Centre and improved the then fledgling Patients Forum of the London Ambulance Service. He organised conferences in City Hall on GM Crops and Non-animal Medical Research. He wrote four papers - ''Where Have All the Local Shops Gone?'', ''Plastic not Fantastic'' (against plastic bag waste), ''Toilets Going to Waste'' (on the decline in public toilets) and ''Keep Off the Grass - the Loss of London's Playing Fields''. In addition, he asked 157 formal questions to the Mayor on a wide range of issues.
In 2003, Lynch was the Green Party's candidate at the
Brent East by-election, securing 3.1% of the vote (638 votes) and coming fourth. He was the party's parliamentary candidate for the
Finchley and Golders Green constituency, where he came fourth with 1136 votes (2.6%) in the
General Election of 2005.
Lynch was third on the Green Party's
list of candidates for the Top-Up (
Additional Member System) seats at the
2008 London Assembly elections, but the Green Party did not receive enough votes to elect a third Assembly member. He was again third on the Green Party list for the
2012 London Assembly election. He was fourth on the list for
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
.
A tribute to Lynch was published on the City Hall website upon his death.
See also
*
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; cy, Plaid Werdd Cymru a Lloegr, kw, Party Gwer Pow an Sowson ha Kembra, often simply the Green Party or Greens) is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla ...
*
London Assembly
The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...
References
External links
Green Party Trade Union Group(GPTU)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Noel
1947 births
2021 deaths
Green Party Members of the London Assembly
Green Party of England and Wales parliamentary candidates
Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom
Military personnel from County Limerick