Darren Paul Johnson (born 1966) is a former English politician and prominent member of the Green Party of England and Wales. He represented the Green Party on the London Assembly from 2000 to 2016 and was a Green councillor in the London Borough of Lewisham. Early life and career Johnson was born in Southport, Lancashire, and at school, studied A-Levels in English, Theatre Studies and Journalistic Studies. Johnson admitted to his "shame" that his first foray into politics was standing in a school mock election in 1979 as a Conservative Party candidate. He lived in Hull for three years before moving with a friend to Wembley in London in 1990. He also lived in Finsbury Park and Golders Green before settling in Lewisham. His first job in London was "in accounts with an advertising firm in Goodge Street". He took a degree at Goldsmiths College (part of the University of London) in 1994, eventually gaining a first-class BA (hons.) degree in Politics and Economics. He apparently "started to work on his PhD until the London Assembly distracted him". He was also once a "paid consultant to Friends of the Earth". Political career Johnson joined the Green Party in 1987 at the age of 20 "after the Chernobyl Disaster", which "had a big impact" on him. He was Male Principal Speaker of the party in 2002. According to the Knitting Circle (a website with "resources on lesbian and gay issues"), his campaigning experience includes infiltrating "the military base at Aldershot dressed as Ivan the Terrible during an arms fair. He was saluted by the guards as he drove through the gates in a large limousine with tinted windows. He tried to buy arms with Monopoly money". London Assembly member In 2000, Johnson was elected to the inaugural London Assembly as part of a three-strong Green Group, including Jenny Jones AM and Victor Anderson (who resigned in March 2003 and was replaced by Noel Lynch for the remainder of the term). The 2004 elections would see the Greens lose the seat held by Lynch, leaving Johnson and Jones as the two remaining members of the Green Group. Both won re-election in the 2008 election, when the Greens held on to their two seats. He served as Deputy Chair of the Assembly 2008-09 and was elected Chair of the Assembly in May 2009. As a London Assembly Member, Johnson was Chair of the