The Wales Green Party (Welsh: Plaid Werdd Cymru) is an autonomous national party within the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) covering Wales. The Wales Green Party puts up candidates for council, Senedd, and UK Parliament seats. The party currently has two elected members of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), and fourteen councillors. Since 2018, the Wales Green Party has been led by Anthony Slaughter, who is a member of the Senedd.
From the 1990s until the mid-2020s the party saw small successes including gaining its first elected Councillors on the Llanelli Borough Council in 1991, and gaining an elected MP, in the form of Cynog Dafis, on a joint ticket with Plaid Cymru from 1992 until 1997. Since the election of Zack Polanski as party-wide leader in 2025, the party's membership has increased, surpassing 8,000 members as of May 2026. As the Senedd Election approached in 2026, the party began to see a sharp increase in polls, even surpassing the Welsh Conservatives in some polls in the run up to the election. At the election, the party gained its first ever representation in the Senedd, with leader Anthony Slaughter gaining his seat in Caerdydd Penarth and Paul Rock gaining a seat in Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf.
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Organisation, leadership and representation
The current Leader of the Wales Green Party is Anthony Slaughter, with Linda Rogers as the deputy leader. Wales-wide decisions are taken by the Wales Green Party Council, which is composed of the spokespeople, elected officers, and a representative from each local party.
As of 2026, Wales Green Party is represented by David Griffin on the Green Party Council, with the second Wales seat being currently vacant.
In April 2023, one of the Wales Green Party's Co-Deputy Leaders, Amerjit Kaur-Dhaliwal, stepped down from their role, saying that "volunteering at this time has become a luxury I can no longer afford, given the cost-of-living crises."
In October 2026, the Welsh Green's Co-deputy Leader, Phil Davies, resigned citing lack of support from the Green Party of England and Wales towards the Welsh party, as well as the passage of a "Zionism is Racism" motion at the 2026 Green Party of England and Wales Conference as the final trigger.
Leadership history
Pippa Bartolotti became Wales Green Party Leader in January 2012. She stood unsuccessfully for the leadership of the Green Party of England and Wales later that year. After four years of leadership, Bartolotti decided against standing for a further term as Leader in 2015. The leadership election was won by Alice Hooker-Stroud, with Hannah Pudner becoming Deputy Leader. Hooker-Stroud was then re-elected in 2016 along with Grenville Ham and Pippa Bartolotti as Deputy Leaders. Hooker-Stroud resigned in 2017, stating that her position had become untenable due to the voluntary nature of the role. Hooker-Stroud was succeeded in early 2017 by Ham. Ham defected to Plaid Cymru in late 2018 citing the party's vote to remain a part of the Green Party of England and Wales instead of becoming an independent party like the Scottish Greens. Mirka Virtanen was elected Deputy Leader in 2016 to begin in 2017, replacing Bartolotti, and Benjamin Smith was co-opted to the vacant Deputy Leader role in July 2017.
Anthony Slaughter who was formerly Deputy Leader was named the Leader of Wales Green Party in December 2018, beating Virtanen who was Deputy Leader at the time and Alex Harris. Duncan Rees was elected Deputy Leader. Mirka was co-opted back into the Deputy Leader role until December 2019. Lauren James was selected to replace her in April 2020.
Green Isles Alliance
Wales Green Party is represented on a Green Isles Alliance which includes Green parties from England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. The alliance acts as a forum for the parties to advance shared political goals.
Membership
In July 2018, the Wales Green Party had around 1,500 members. In April 2023, the Wales Green Party was reported to have over 1,800 members. By the end of 2019, the Green Party in England and Wales had a combined 49,013 members (up from 38,707 in 2018). In October 2024, the Wales Green Party had 2,006 members. By November 2025, the party had reached just under 6,000 members. By March 2026, the Wales Green Party's membership had passed 8,000.
History
Ecology Party era (1972–1990)
The Green Parties in the United Kingdom have their roots in the PEOPLE Party which was founded in 1972. In 1973, three Welsh Green candidates (P. Jones, W. Jones and V. Carney) won seats in the inaugural Welsh district council elections in the Gadlys and Town wards on Cynon Valley Borough Council. The party was renamed to the Ecology Party in 1975, and then the Green Party in 1985.
Early era (1990–1999)
In 1990, the Scottish and Northern Irish branches left the UK Greens to form separate parties. The English and Welsh parties became the Green Party of England and Wales, with the Welsh branch being autonomous.
In 1991, Marcus Hughes and Brian Stringer were elected to represent the Bynea and Dafen wards on Llanelli Borough Council In 1995, both then stood unsuccessfully as 'Independent Green' candidates, losing their seats to Labour on the new Carmarthenshire County Council. In 1993, the Party won a county council seat on Anglesey (Ynys Môn) after a sitting councillor in the Aethwy ward had joined the Greens, but the Party did not defend this seat or stand any other candidates at the 1995 Isle of Anglesey County Council election two years later.
As pro-environmental positions became more prominent in Plaid Cymru, both Plaid Cymru and the Wales Green Party began exploring the prospects of greater co-operation with each other. At a conference in Denbigh, Plaid Cymru invited representatives from the Wales Green Party to discuss potential common ground between the two parties, with a similar event being held in Cardiff the following year.
For the 1992 general election, the local Greens entered an electoral alliance with Plaid Cymru in the constituency of Ceredigion and Pembroke North. The electoral alliance had begun by a joint policy document drafted in 1991, and agreed following both the constituency Green branch and constituency Plaid Cymru branch's members voted to approve the alliance. The alliance was successful with Cynog Dafis being returned in a surprise result as the MP, defeating the Liberal Democrat incumbent by over 3,000 votes.
Official cooperation between the two parties began to break down by 1995 due to policy disagreements, and disagreements within the Welsh Green Party over endorsing another party's candidate. Despite this there were still some joint candidates in the 1995 UK local elections. Dafis would go on to serve in parliament as a Plaid Cymru member until 2000, and in the National Assembly for Wales from 1999 until 2003. Dafis later stated that he did not consider himself to be the "first Green MP".
On 29 August 1997, the Wales Green Party issued a joint declaration with the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru, supporting the 'Yes for Wales' campaign and the establishment of a new National Assembly for Wales in the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum.
Devolution era (1999–present)
In the 1999 Welsh local elections, Klaus Armstrong-Braun became the first Green Party councillor to be elected to one of Wales' twenty two unitary councils, winning a seat on Flintshire County Council. In 2006, the party elected Ann Were as party leader, the first female leader of a Welsh political party.
In 2010, the party became the only Green party within the United Kingdom to have not elected a Green candidate to a UK or devolved legislature, after Caroline Lucas was elected to the UK Parliament. In 2011, the Green Party campaigned in support of a yes vote in the 2011 Welsh devolution referendum. In 2013, the Wales Green Party archive at the National Library was damaged in a fire with some historical material either destroyed or permanently damaged.
In 2015, the Party agreed to support as many powers for Wales as possible, 'up to and including independence'. In the 2017 Welsh local elections, the Wales Green Party had their first county councillor elected to Powys County Council, for the Llangors ward.
In July 2018, the party held a vote on whether to split from the GPEW to form a separate organisation. Of those members who voted, 65% voted against the proposal, despite the leader Grenville Ham campaigning for independence. In October 2020, party members voted that they would campaign to support Welsh independence if a referendum was called on the matter, with party leader Anthony Slaughter arguing that many green policies could not be implemented in Wales without further devolved powers or independence.
In September 2021, Matt Townsend called for the party to become independent from its Westminster counterpart, despite members voting against it three years earlier. Writing in Bright Green, Townsend pointed out that the Scottish and Northern Irish Green parties were both independent from the GPEW. "This has left Wales as one of very few nations around the world to not have its own Green Party," he said. Townsend also noted that whilst the Scottish Greens had now entered government with the SNP, the Wales Green Party failed to win any seats at the 2021 Senedd election. Slaughter told Nation.Cymru in August 2023 that, with the expansion of the Senedd in 2026, he expected Green MSs to be elected for the first time.
Policies
While associated mainly with environmentalist policies, the party has a history of support for communitarian economic policies, including well-funded, locally controlled public services within the confines of a steady-state economy. It is supportive of proportional representation voting systems and takes a progressive approach to social policies, including supporting a universal basic income and transitioning to a four day working week. It also supports the devolution of further powers to Wales. In October 2020, the party announced that it would campaign for Welsh independence should a referendum be held. In their manifesto for the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the party later committed itself to Welsh independence in general.
The party emphasises expanding localised renewable energy projects. Other policies within its Policies for a Sustainable Society in Wales include: phasing out waste incineration, improving public transport and supporting new safe standing areas in Welsh sports stadiums. Furthermore, included within the party's policies is the commitment to "bring the rail system, including track and operators, back into public ownership". The party also supports bringing Welsh Water into public ownership.
The Wales Green Party supports free bus travel for those who are under 22-years-old and £1 bus fares for those aged 22 to 59 years old.
The party is in favour of universal free school meals, both during school term time and during school holidays. The party also backs ending the two child benefits cap.
The Wales Green Party wants to raise Universal Credit by £40 per week, increase Pension Credit and provide an immediate uplift in disability benefits by 5%. The party also supports increasing the minimum wage to £15 an hour, with the cost to small businesses offset by reducing their national insurance.
In terms of state funding, the party is in favour of a yearly 1% tax on assets above £10 million and a 2% yearly tax on assets above £1 billion. It would also scrap the upper earnings limit so that high income earners pay more national insurance. Furthermore, the party would reform taxes on taxable gains from capital so that it equates to taxes earned from income. Another state revenue source it would seek is a £120 carbon tax per tonne of emitted carbon, as well as carbon taxing fossil fuel imports and fossil fuel extractions. The party also wants to establish a Green Transformation Fund for Wales, which it says will "raise investment, develop infrastructure and generate long-term returns through leases, rents and power purchase agreements". Another aspect of its transformation plans is through the issuance of Transformation Bonds, in which citizens would be able to invest directly in Wales's transition to a greener economy. The party would also introduce a vacant land tax for unused land with planning permission.
Elected representatives
Election results
House of Commons
a Seats contested exclude joint Plaid Cymru - Green candidates. Three joint candidates are referenced on the UK Parliament website, whilst five (Ceredigion and Pembroke North, Islwyn, Monmouth, Newport West & Torfaen) are recorded on Wikipedia. Cynog Dafis was elected in the Ceredigion and Pembroke North constituency.
b The party retained deposits for the first time: in Ceredigion, Cardiff Central and Swansea West.
c The Vale of Glamorgan seat was contested as part of the Remain Alliance.
d Best result to date. First time contested every constituency in Wales. 9 out of 32 deposits retained. Outperformed Northern Irish (1.1%) and Scottish Greens (3.8%) on vote share, with lower vote share than English Greens (7.3%).
Senedd
a First election to the Senedd, initially known as the National Assembly for Wales. Only Green candidate was in the Ceredigion constituency.
b Only Green candidate was in the Ceredigion constituency.
c The party's highest number of constituency votes in a Welsh general election to date.
d The Greens received more regional votes than the Liberal Democrats, but finished one place lower in fifth position after that party won a Mid and West Wales regional list seat.
e Starting with the 2026 election, the Senedd was increased to 96 members who are all elected through closed list proportional representation (using the D'Hondt method) in sixteen six-member constituencies.
Local elections
a Figures do not include community or town councils.
b Two councillors elected to Llanelli Borough Council (Bynea and Dafen wards). Last election to 37 district councils before 22 new unitary councils were established.
c Councillor elected to Gwynedd County Council (Aethwy ward, Anglesey), with a new high of three councillors across Wales. Last election to eight county councils before 22 new unitary councils established.
d First elections to 22 new councils under Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. No Greens elected.
e First councillor elected to Flintshire County Council (Saltney Stonebridge ward).
f Results include 21 out of 22 councils. No Green candidates stood for the 30 seats in the delayed 2013 Isle of Anglesey County Council election.
g First seat won on Powys County Council (Llangors ward).
h The party's highest number of votes, candidates and seats in a Welsh local election. First councillors elected to six councils: Denbighshire, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Newport and Conwy.
European Parliament
a First election contested by the Green Party of England and Wales. Result reversed gains from the 1989 election (11.1% and 99,546 votes).
b Last election before Wales left the European Union.
Election campaigns
House of Commons
The Wales Green Party entered an electoral pact in eleven Welsh seats with Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Liberal Democrats, as part of the Remain Alliance. As a result of this agreement, the party did not contest ten Welsh seats and instead supported pro-European Plaid Cymru or Liberal Democrat candidates. In the Vale of Glamorgan constituency, Anthony Slaughter stood for the Green Party as the Remain Alliance candidate but was not elected. The 2019 manifesto was titled If not now, when? and included various commitments, including taxing frequent flyers, creating more energy-efficient homes, decommissioning North Sea oil rigs and phasing out the UK's coal industry.
The Wales Green Party fielded their highest number of UK general election candidates and achieved their best UK election result in Wales.
Senedd
The Green Party stood a full set of regional list candidates as well as thirteen constituency candidates in the 2021 Senedd election.
Some of the party's key policies for the 2021 Senedd election included: ending fees for people's first university degree, targeting Wales to be carbon net zero by 2030 by replacing fossil fuels with onshore and offshore renewable energy, and introducing free public transport for local journeys for people in Wales aged under 21. The party also said it would build 12,000 homes to the highest environmental standards and would start a transformation fund to invest in local communities and create thousands of green jobs.
During the campaign, it was initially announced the party would be excluded from taking part in the BBC One Wales leaders debate scheduled for 29 April 2021. However, BBC Wales later announced that a revised format would allow the party to participate in the second half of the TV debate.
Regional list
Constituencies
In September 2015, Amelia Womack, Deputy Leader of GPEW, announced her intention to stand in the National Assembly elections for Wales Green Party. An ITV article titled "Green deputy leader wants to switch to Welsh politics" wrote of Newport-born Womack's intention to stand in the Welsh elections saying; "She's seeking the nomination for the Cardiff Central constituency and – more significantly – hoping to be top of the Wales Green Party's regional list for South Wales Central." Notably, the article went on to say "Opinion polls have occasionally suggested that the Greens could gain a list seat in the Senedd".
On 10 February 2016, Welsh Greens abandoned progressive alliance negotiations a few months before the Senedd elections. The manifesto included plans to scrap the M4 relief road, build 12,000 new homes a year and provide free childcare to every child in Wales.
Regional list
Constituencies
A DNS = Did not stand.
Local elections
The 2021 Welsh local elections were postponed until 2022 to avoid a clash with the 2021 Senedd election, with the future electoral cycle also changed from four to five years by the Welsh Government. The Wales Green Party formed an electoral pact with Plaid Cymru to fight seats in Cardiff.
The party won eight seats in the election, exceeding a previous high of three seats held in the early 1990s (prior to the two tier system of county and district councils being abolished and replaced by twenty two new unitary councils in 1995). A further two were elected via an alliance with Plaid Cymru in Cardiff.
In the 2017 Welsh local elections, the Welsh Greens elected their first ever councillor. In 2021 Powys councillor Emily Durrant defected to Plaid Cymru.
Representation groups
Wales Young Greens
Wales Young Greens (Welsh: Gwyrddion Ifanc Cymru) is a national youth and student group subdivision of the Young Greens of England and Wales.
The current co-chairs of the Young Greens of England and Wales are Callum Clafferty and Luanne Thornton.
Welsh Green Pride
Welsh Green Pride is the LGBTIQA+ Liberation group within the Wales Green Party. The group started a UK wide review of the discriminatory blood ban 'which excludes any LGBTIQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex & Queer) people who have had sexual relations in the past 12 months from donating blood'. The group ran a petition and later met with Mark Drakeford which resulted in a review later being produced, and in 2021 the legislation was changed to allow men who had sex with men to give blood.