In the first of a series of articles on all the Northern Ireland European election candidates, Matthew McCreary profiles the Green Party’s Steven Agnew.

As a relative newcomer to politics, the Green Party’s candidate for Europe, Steven Agnew, will need to go that little bit further to make his name against his rivals.

While the candidate lists are dominated by such big-hitters as the SDLP’s Alban Maginness and Diane Dodds of the DUP, as well as the incumbents, there have been very few raw recruits taking their place on the hustings.

At just 29, Mr Agnew is one of the youngest of the bunch, but hopes that the blend of his youth and the experience of the Green Party as a movement will bring the party a solid return in June.

And with one MLA already in place at Stormont, the Green Party will be hoping to make a mark on the vote count, even if they are up against some well-established figures.

Steven Agnew has been a party member since 2003, when a meeting with then Green Party co-chair John Barry at an anti-Iraq War rally laid the groundwork for an aspiring political career.

In spite of the party’s more overt policies on the environment, it was the Green Party’s ideas on social justice which appealed to the young Queen’s University philosophy graduate.

Following a career working on the front lines with homeless people in Northern Ireland, it was the election of the Green Party’s Brian Wilson to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007 which gave him his first full-time foray into local politics.

After standing unsuccessfully in East Belfast for the party in that election, Agnew became a researcher to Mr Wilson.

Since then his time has been occupied with representing the MLA on a number of panels and bodies, something which he will need to get used to in Brussels with its myriad departments and committees.

Despite his young age, Mr Agnew says he is not fazed by the prospect of representing Northern Ireland and his party on a Europe-wide stage.

“It’s a bigger parliament but to me it’s a bigger version of the same kind of system,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.

“The other advantage I would have is that Greens have 43 MEPS in Europe so I would have plenty of colleagues to work alongside.”

While climate change and green politics are now enjoying a higher profile than ever, the Green Party will doubtless find themselves addressing a well-informed and opinionated electorate on the subject.

But with economic concerns never far from the headlines they will also have their work cut out convincing some sceptical voters that they are up to dealing with the other big issues of the day.

“For us to focus solely on the environment would be just as unwise as any party that focuses solely on the economy,” said Agnew.

“The Green New Deal sets out to tackle the economic crisis, the environmental crisis and the forthcoming energy crisis together. We will be doing that through things like shifting towards renewable energy technology, which we have seen can create jobs here in Northern Ireland, and we predict could create a lot more.

“Businesses see that new technology is the only way forward for energy production so these technologies are a safe bet.”

Like many parties, the Greens will be able to use the economic backdrop as a springboard for promoting broader policies in the forthcoming election.

While other candidates may become bogged down in the predictable to-ing and fro-ing which characterise Northern Ireland’s political landscape, the Greens at least will find themselves in the unique position of being able to rise above it all. And while the brickbats fly, for Mr Agnew it will be an opportunity to promote greater emphasis on such staple policies as reduce, reuse and recycle.

“We see this as an opportunity for people to see a lot of consumption was excessive and based on debt. It was unsound economically, as well as environmentally,” said Mr Agnew.

Find out more about the candidates. Visit our MiCandidate page.