Michael Chessum

Michael Chessum (born 1989) is a British politician and journalist who has served as councillor for Brixton Acre Lane ward in Lambeth London Borough Council for the Green Party since May 2026.

Political career Chessum was a student activist in the 2010 United Kingdom student protests, and co-founded the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts. He opposed Momentum's decision to require its members to join the Labour Party in 2017. Chessum was a speechwriter for Jeremy Corbyn. He was a leading member of the pro-EU campaign group Another Europe Is Possible, which sought to pressure the leadership of the Labour party to oppose Brexit in 2018. In 2019, Momentum was fined £900 by the Electoral Commission due to Chessum failing to report a donation by the legal deadline for doing so. Chessum wrote that he "stopped attending my local Labour left group because the atmosphere had become so toxic, and my position on Brexit made me a figure of genuine hate".

Green Party of England and Wales On 16 June 2025, Chessum left the Labour Party and joined the Green Party of England and Wales, in response to Zack Polanski's leadership bid in the 2025 Green Party leadership election.

Journalism career Chessum has written articles for The Guardian.

Publications