Wales Green Party

Pippa Bartolotti became Wales Green party leader in January 2012. She stood (unsuccessfully) for the leadership of the GPEW later that year.[16] After four years of leadership, Bartolotti decided against standing for a further term as leader in the 2015 Leadership election which was won by Alice Hooker-Stroud, while Hannah Pudner became deputy leader. Alice was then re-elected in 2016 along with Grenville Ham and a returning Pippa Bartolotti as deputy leaders.[17] Alice resigned in 2017 stating that her position had become "untenable" due to the voluntary nature of the role.[18] Alice was succeeded in early 2017 by Grenville Ham. Grenville defected to Plaid Cymru in late 2018 citing the party's vote to remain a part of the Green Party of England and Wales rather than to become an independent party (as the Scottish Green Party had previously done) as his reason. Like Alice, Grenville described his position as "untenable".[19] Mirka Virtanen was elected deputy leader in 2016 to begin in 2017, replacing Pippa Bartolotti, and Benjamin Smith was co-opted to the vacant deputy leader role in July 2017.[20]

Anthony Slaughter (former deputy leader) was named the current leader of the Wales Green Party in December 2018, beating Mirka Virtanen (deputy leader at the time) and Alex Harris in the leadership election. 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.

Leadership history

No.	Portrait	Leader	From	To
1		Martyn Shrewsbury	2004	2006
2		Ann Were	2006	2008
3		Leila Kiersch	2008	2009
4		Jake Griffiths[21]	2009	2012
5		Pippa Bartolotti[22]	2012	2016
6		Alice Hooker-Stroud[23]	2016	2017
7		Grenville Ham[18]	2017	2018
8		Anthony Slaughter	2018	Incumbent

As of July 2018, the Wales Green Party had around 1,500 members.[3] By the end of 2019, the Green Party in England and Wales had a combined 49,013 members (up from 38,707 in 2018).[24]

The Green Parties in the United Kingdom have their roots in the PEOPLE Party which was founded in 1972, which became the Ecology Party in 1975, and then the Green Party in 1985.[25]

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 narrowly missed out on a fourth seat to the Labour Party.[26]

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 semi-autonomous.[14]

In 1991, Marcus Hughes and Brian Stringer were elected to represent the Bynea and Dafen wards on Llanelli Borough Council[27] 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 Ynys Mon 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.[28]

At the 1992 general election, local Greens entered an electoral alliance with Plaid Cymru in the constituency of Ceredigion and Pembroke North. 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.[29][30][31] The agreement broke down by 1995 following disagreement within the Welsh Green Party over endorsing another party's candidate, though Dafis would go on to serve in parliament as a Plaid Cymru member until 2000, and in the National Assembly of Wales from 1999 until 2003. Dafis later stated that he did not consider himself to be the "first Green MP".[32]

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.[33]

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.[34]

In 2011, the Green Party campaigned in support of a yes vote in the 2011 Welsh devolution referendum.[35]

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.[36]

In 2015, the Party agreed to support as many powers for Wales as possible, 'up to and including independence'.[37]

In the 2017 Welsh local elections, the Wales Green Party had their first county councillor elected to Powys County Council, for the Llangors ward.[38]

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.[39]

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.[40]

^A Figures do not include community or town councils.

The party did not field candidates in the 2012 or 2016 police and crime commissioner elections in Wales.

The 2021 Welsh local elections were postponed until 2022 to avoid a clash with the 2021 Welsh Parliament election, with the future electoral cycle also changed from four to five years by the Welsh Government.[48] The Green Party were defending one council seat in Powys.

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".[49]

10 February 2016 Welsh Greens abandoned progressive alliance negotiations a few months before the Senedd elections.[50] 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.[51]

Regional list

Region		Number of votes	Proportion of votes	Change	Candidates
	Mid and West Wales	8,222	3.8%	0.3%	Alice Hooker Stroud, Grenville Ham, Pippa Pemberton, Frances Bryant, Brian Dafydd Williams
	North Wales	4,789	2.3%		Duncan Rees, Martin Bennewith, Petra Haig, Gerry Wolff
	South Wales Central	7,949	3.4%	1.8%	Amelia Womack, Anthony Slaughter, Hannah Pudner, Chris von Ruhland
	South Wales East	4,831	2.5%	0.2%	Pippa Bartolotti, Ann Were, Chris Were, Katy Beddoe, Andrew Creak
	South Wales West	4,420	2.6%		Lisa Rapado, Charlotte Barlow, Laurence Brophy, Mike Whittall, Russell Kennedy, Thomas Muller

Constituencies

No.		Constituency	Votes	%	Change % +/-
	1	Cardiff Central	1,158	4.4	NA
	2	Cardiff South and Penarth	1,268	4.2	NA
	3	Ceredigion	1,223	4.1	1.1
	3	Preseli Pembrokeshire	1,161	4.1	NA
	5	Swansea West	883	4.0	NA
	6	Montgomeryshire	932	3.9	NA
	7	Dwyfor Meirionnydd	743	3.7	NA
	8	Cardiff West	1,032	3.2	NA
	9	Aberconwy	680	3.1	NA
	9	Cynon Valley	598	3.1	NA
	11	Torfaen	681	3.0	NA
	12	Monmouth	910	2.9	NA
	12	Newport West	814	2.9	NA
	14	Caerphilly	770	2.8	NA
	15	Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshirre	804	2.7	NA
	15	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr	797	2.7	NA
	15	Islwyn	592	2.7	NA
	18	Swansea East	529	2.6	NA
	19	Gower	737	2.4	NA
	19	Alyn and Deeside	527	2.4	NA
	19	Newport East	491	2.4	NA
	22	Brecon and Radnorshire	697	2.3	NA
	22	Neath	589	2.3	NA
	22	Merthyr Tydfil	469	2.3	NA
	25	Cardiff North	824	2.2	NA
	25	Clwyd West	565	2.2	NA
	25	Ogmore	516	2.2	NA
	28	Vale of Glamorgan	794	2.1	NA
	28	Bridgend	567	2.1	NA
	28	Clwyd South	474	2.1	NA
	31	Pontypridd	508	2.0	NA
	31	Wrexham	411	2.0	NA
	33	Aberavon	389	1.9	NA
	34	Llanelli	427	1.5	NA
	34	Ynys Mon	389	1.5	NA
	36	Rhondda	259	1.1	NA
	37	Arfon	DNS
	38	Blaenau Gwent	DNS
	39	Delyn	DNS
	40	Vale of Clwyd	DNS

^A DNS = Did not stand.

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.[52][53]

No.		Constituency	Votes	%	Change % +/-
	1	Vale of Glamorgan	3,251	5.9	5.1
	2	Monmouth	1,353	2.7	0.8
	3	Cardiff West	1,133	2.5	NA
	4	Cardiff South and Penarth	1,182	2.3	1.3
	5	Torfaen	812	2.2	NA
	6	Newport West	902	2.1	1.0
	7	Neath	728	2.0	NA
	8	Bridgend	815	1.9	NA
	8	Islwyn	669	1.9	NA
	10	Ogmore	621	1.8	NA
	11	Ceredigion	663	1.7	0.3
	11	Swansea East	583	1.7	0.7
	13	Cardiff North	820	1.6	NA
	13	Newport East	577	1.6	NA
	15	Rhondda	438	1.5	NA
	16	Aberavon	450	1.4	NA
	17	Wrexham	445	1.3	NA
	17	Blaenau Gwent	386	1.3	NA

The Wales Green Party fielded their highest number of UK general election candidates and achieved their best UK election result in Wales.

No.		Constituency	Votes	%	Change % +/-
	1	Cardiff Central	2,461	6.4	4.8
	2	Ceredigion	2,088	5.6	3.8
	3	Swansea West	1,784	5.1	4.0
	4	Cardiff West	1,704	3.9	2.1
	5	Cardiff South and Penarth	1,746	3.7	2.5
	5	Montgomeryshire	1,260	3.7	NA
	7	Preseli Pembrokeshire	1,452	3.6	NA
	8	Monmouth	1,629	3.4	2.1
	8	Dwyfor Meirionnydd	981	3.4	NA
	10	Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire	1,290	3.2	NA
	10	Newport West	1,272	3.2	2.1
	10	Neath	1,185	3.2	NA
	13	Brecon and Radnorshire	1,261	3.1	2.2
	14	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr	1,091	2.8	NA
	15	Gower	1,161	2.7	NA
	16	Pontypridd	992	2.6	1.6
	16	Clwyd South	915	2.6	NA
	16	Cynon Valley	799	2.6	NA
	19	Cardiff North	1,254	2.5	1.7
	19	Newport East	887	2.5	NA
	21	Alyn and Deeside	976	2.4	NA
	21	Aberconwy	727	2.4	NA
	23	Caerphilly	937	2.3	NA
	23	Blaenau Gwent	738	2.3	NA
	23	Aberavon	711	2.3	NA
	26	Vale of Glamorgan	1,054	2.1	1.1
	27	Wrexham	669	2.0	NA
	27	Torfaen	746	2.0	0.8
	29	Islwyn	659	1.9	NA
	29	Bridgend	736	1.9	NA
	31	Llanelli	689	1.8	NA
	31	Bridgend	680	1.8	NA
	31	Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney	603	1.8	NA
	34	Rhondda	453	1.4	NA