Green Party ready to be ‘kingmakers’ in Senedd elections
The Wales Green Party has said it is ready to act as “kingmakers” after the Senedd election, as recent polling suggests the party could play a decisive role in forming the next Welsh Government.
Launching its campaign in Cardiff today (31 March) party leader Anthony Slaughter said a strong Green performance on May 7 could limit Reform UK’s influence while shaping the direction of the next administration.
“The polls are saying that we will hold the balance of power in the Senedd after the election,” he said.
“A strong Green vote will help both keep Reform’s presence in government to a minimum, and make sure the next Welsh government is focused on cutting living costs, fixing the housing crisis, and repairing our NHS.”
The launch was also attended by party leader Zack Polanski, who pointed to recent gains for the Greens across the UK as evidence of growing support.
“Wales Greens look set to achieve incredible things in this election,” he said, adding that the party’s recent by-election success in England showed it could “win anywhere”.
The party is fielding a full slate of candidates across Wales, with internal analysis suggesting it is a key challenger to Reform in several marginal seats.
An ITV Cymru Wales/YouGov poll published last week suggests Plaid Cymru is on course to emerge as the largest party with around 33% of the vote and 43 seats — short of a majority.
Reform UK is projected to finish second on 27%, with Welsh Labour falling to third on 13% in a significant shift in Welsh politics.
The Greens, polling at around 12%, could secure up to 10 seats — potentially placing them in a pivotal position when it comes to forming a government.
Dr Jac Larner, of Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre, said the contest for power was increasingly a “two-horse race” between Plaid Cymru and Reform, but noted Plaid had more potential coalition options.
The Green Party’s platform includes pledges to freeze rents, replace council tax, lower bus fares and bring water services back under public control.
Tessa Marshall, the party’s candidate for Cardiff and Penarth, said the election would be “crucial” for the country’s future.
“From bringing costs down, saving our rivers and natural world, to delivering a new future for Wales, Greens know we need to deliver,” she said.
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Why vote Green with the possibility of being ‘kingmakers’ when you can elect kings directly by voting Plaid Cymru?
Correct.
An English party that pulled 2% to 3% of the vote last time now claiming they’re going to decide who runs our country, a bit like that waste disposal crook who connived with Vaughan Gething to make him king for a few days.
Politics is making a mad world.
A recent Nation.cymru article argued that tactical voting can still affect the outcome even with d’Hondt. The argument seems to be that Reform are weaker if some (but not too many!) progressive voters vote for their second-favourite party. It all hinges on how much weight your vote has if it ends up being used to determine the outcome for the sixth seat in your superconsituency. There’s a lot of game theory involved, because you have to decide if enough other voters are going to vote for your favourite party for it to be worth your while voting for your second-favourite… Read more »
‘Without handing over too much power to smaller parties’ the article states!
We’ll next be having the Monster Raving Loony Party demanding a Monster Raving Loony national holiday – from the real world.
Sounds good to me.
They need to become a separate Welsh party to be a genuine option.
Both Greens and Plaid are ready to cooperate and are pro-further devolution, calling for a fairer Barnet formula deal. Both parties will work for a fairer deal for Wales. Welsh Labour, on the other hand, is in the pocket of Starmer, and he has offered Wales nothing, even less in some ways, than the previous government. Reform care even less than them. Labour does not deserve another term. A Plaid Green government, with possible support from the Liberal Democrats, is the only way forward. I hope we get it.
Unfortunately, ‘working for a fair deal’ is poles apart from getting a fair deal. It’ll just be used as a diversionary tactic when the new leadership fails to sort out our public services and fails to get the economy going. I’d like to be proved wrong on this but time will be the judge.
Labour has failed abysmally at the UK and Welsh levels. They spend all their time spinning a message of how good they are, but the facts speak for themselves – nothing is improving. We need at least someone to try bolder solutions. Plaid cannot do worse than Labour.
Zack Polanski’s own family has said they’ll be forced to leave the UK if he becomes Prime Minister. “He’s currently the leader of the future Islamic party of Britain, that’s what the Green Party is fast becoming.” Another family member added: “The mad thing is that he’s gay, he’s Jewish but he’s cosying up to people whose ideology is the complete antithesis of everything that he’s supposed to stand for. It’s like he’s a chicken, telling us to vote for KFC.” Even his own family can see he’s full of rubbish and pandering to the Islamists. The people closest to… Read more »