Mike Woodin

Michael Edward Woodin
Principal Speaker of the Green Party
In office 2003 – 9 July 2004
Preceded by	Darren Johnson
Succeeded by	Keith Taylor
In office 1997–2001
Preceded by	David Taylor
Succeeded by	Darren Johnson
Oxford City Councillor for Carfax Ward
In office 9 June 1994 – 9 July 2004
Succeeded by	Sushila Dhall
Personal details
Born	6 November 1965
Died	9 July 2004 (aged 38)
Nationality	British
Political party	Green Party of England and Wales

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 6 of the 8 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.

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

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

He 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.

A mulberry tree commemorating Mike Woodin near Grandpont, Oxford, planted by fellow councillors and activists in the Oxfordshire Green Party.

He 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]

He died in 2004 of secondary cancer of the lungs, in spite of 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 regarded as a tragedy for the resurgent Green movement in the United Kingdom.

References

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

External links

• Green Party: Mike Woodin, obituary and press release
• Obituary by Caroline Lucas in The Guardian, 14 July 2004
• Obituary by Spencer Fitz-Gibbon in The Independent, 13 July 2004
• Mike Woodin signing up to proPalestinian activism