Martin first came to Frome in 1983 to take up the post of Head of Drama at Frome College. During his time there he was also invited to establish a youth theatre at the Theatre Royal Bath and directed the Opening Night of the Bath Festival for 5 years. He went on to hold the position of Creative Director of the Frome Festival for 15 years, alongside being Programme Manager at the Cheese and Grain until 2017. He was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts in 2020. He has also written a number of stage plays, of which three have been published.

a green champion for Frome

Martin was the first Green Party candidate to be elected to Somerset County Council in 2017, representing Frome East. He was elected again in 2022 in the first Unitary Somerset Council, was the first Leader of the Green group and is Chair of the Climate and Place Scrutiny Committee. In 2019, Martin stood alongside Molly Scott-Cato and Green Party co-Leader Carla Denyer in the South West constituency for the EU elections, in which Molly was re-elected.

A strong voice in Westminster

The local Green Parties of East Mendip and B&NES liaised together in the appointment of Martin as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Green Party in the new constituency of Frome and Somerset East. Martin ran a very successful campaign in 2023’s Somerton & Frome by-election – the best ever performance by a Green candidate in a parliamentary by-election. We’re hugely proud of Martin, and look forward to securing even more support for him in 2024.