Former Wolverhampton student stands for Greens

Claire McIlvenna, 55, was given face-to-face advice by Gore, whose best-selling book ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ established him as a leading light in the battle against climate change.

Their meeting took place as Claire became one of only a handful of UK delegates to attend the 45th vice-president’s global ‘Climate Reality Project’ summit in Istanbul in June 2013.

The mother-of-three, who has lived in the Wombourne area for 50 years, said: “I had to apply to attend, by saying why I was passionate about the climate, and I felt very fortunate to be chosen.

“Al Gore stood on the stage and trained 600-plus people from 94 different countries, including me.

“The aim of this training was to teach candidates how to talk everywhere and to everyone about the ways the crisis affects them personally- and what they can do about it.

“I became a Climate Reality Leader, the idea being that we all went away and spread the knowledge we had gained, disseminating information among schools and businesses. It was a really big thing – it was amazing.”

Charity worker Claire, who is employed as a counsellor, has stood for the party in two previous general elections. She reinforced her social justice beliefs while studying Public Health at the University of Wolverhampton in the late 90s, where she graduated with a BSc Hons.

“I looked at income inequality while I was a student there, and it was a real eye-opener,” she said.

“That’s when I really became political. I understand the importance of issues such as improving public transport and setting up a universal income.”

Claire, who is also a Wombourne Parish Councillor and has previously worked for Wolverhampton Network Consortium and as a Teenage Pregnancy Adviser, said protecting the green belt was at the top of her and the Green Party’s list.

“I am completely opposed to urban sprawl and wholly support increasing biodiversity. Nobody likes development in the wrong place,” she added.