Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960)[1] is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018.

She was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England in 1999 and re-elected in 2004 and 2009,[3][4] also serving as the party's female Principal Speaker from 2003 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2008.

In November 2001, she was convicted of a breach of the peace at the Faslane nuclear base in Scotland the previous February and fined £150 for her participation in a CND sit-down protest.

"It still seems ironic that it is a non-violent demonstration that is judged to be a breach of the peace, rather than Britain's illegal and immoral possession of nuclear weapons", she wrote at the time.

[15] Lucas was elected as the Green Party's first leader on 5 September 2008, gaining 92% of the vote (against one other candidate, Ashley Gunstock) on a turnout of 38%.

The jury accepted their defence of lawful excuse – action undertaken to prevent a much worse crime – because the company manufactured and sold certain components used by the Israeli military, notably in its assault on Gaza.

Lucas stated that: "I am absolutely delighted the jury has recognised that the actions of the decommissioners were a legitimate response to the atrocities being committed in Gaza.

In 2007, Lucas declared her intention to stand for the Green Party's nomination for the prospective parliamentary candidate in the Brighton Pavilion constituency for the next general election.

[36] In accord with long-standing Green policy, Lucas voted in 2015 for holding the European Union Referendum, but campaigning to stay in the EU with major reform.

[41] In May 2018, Lucas announced that at the end of her two-year term in September, she would not seek re-election as co-leader of the Green Party.

[43] Lucas is vice-president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals[44] and has been on the National Council of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament since 2004.

[46] A former vice-president of the Stop the War Coalition, she resigned from the post in December 2015;[47] she stated that her "busy parliamentary and constituency schedule means that she doesn't have time to fully engage with the role of a patron and, in light of some recent StWC positions that she didn't support, she felt standing down was the responsible thing to do".

[50][51][52] In early 2013, Lucas co-signed a letter that was published in The Guardian newspaper and officially marked her support for the People's Assembly Against Austerity movement.

For the first time in my memory, the party of Keir Hardie and Clement Attlee looks likely to be led again by someone who dares to stand up for the radical changes demanded by the challenges we face.

[55][56][57] In January 2016, Lucas tabled a motion in the British Parliament, calling on the Government to commission research into the effects of a universal basic income and examine its feasibility to replace the UK's existing social security system.

[60] In August 2019, Lucas was subject to criticism for suggesting the creation of an all-female cabinet, who happened to be all white, as part of a national unity government, to try to stop a no-deal Brexit.

[61] Later that year, she criticised the Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg for appearing to recline on a front bench asleep while she was delivering a speech.

[62][63] In February 2020, she was investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, following a complaint by Michael Fabricant that she had offered a tour of the Commons in exchange for £150, as part of a fundraising drive.

[65] In 2021, Lucas was one of three MPs who successfully took legal action against the Department of Health and Social Care over contracts awarded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[68] Lucas is a prolific writer of reports, articles and books on the subjects of trade justice, localisation, globalisation, animal welfare, and food, in which she criticises of free trade, a single European currency, trade-led development policies, genetically modified food, and a lack of attention to environmental and social issues.

[71] In April 2024 via Hutchinson Heinemann, Lucas published a book titled Another England: How to Reclaim Our National Story.

[72] In her time as a politician and activist, Lucas has won the 2006 Michael Kay Award "for her outstanding contribution to European animal welfare" from the RSPCA.

[1][49][87] Lucas is a vegetarian; she told ITV News political correspondent Paul Brand in September 2019 that she is "moving as fast as she can towards being vegan".