Photo of John Raine

John Raine

District Councillor, West ward.

John, has lived in West Malvern for more than forty years; this being where he and his wife, Susan, have brought up their three children.  He first became interested in Green politics in 1980 and was elected as the first Green councillor on West Malvern Parish Council in 1986 before winning a seat, as the sole Green, on Malvern Hills District Council in 2000.  Since then, he has been re-elected some six times, as well as representing his local area on Worcestershire County Council for eight years.  Since the 2019 district elections, the Greens, in alliance with Independents, have held control of the Council, with John taking on the role of ‘Environment Portfolio-holder’.  He also serves on the Board of Malvern Hills Trust (as vice chair and chair of the Governance Committee) and currently also chairs the Advisory Committee of the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. And when not doing Green politics, John serves as organist at his local church in West Malvern.