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Welsh Greens’ former deputy leader quits over ‘Zionism is racism’ motion

07 Oct 2026 3 minute read

Welsh Greens’ former deputy leader with party leader Zack Polanski – Image: Phil Davies Facebook

Emily Price

The Green Party’s former deputy leader in Wales has resigned over a motion to declare “Zionism is racism”, after also calling for the Welsh Greens to split from the main party.

In a video posted to social media on Tuesday (October 6), Phil Davies, who had been a member of the Greens for seven years, said he felt he was being treated like “the token Welshman moaning at various points”.

He called for the Welsh Greens to become independent from the wider party, saying his position was not being treated with “respect”.

Davies said: “I have often felt like the token Welshman moaning at various points but have not seen enough action taken by the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) to convince me they treat us within Wales Green Party with enough respect or listen to and act on our concerns I also feel the position of Wales deputy Leaders is ignored rather than supported by GPEW.

“I feel like I have been banging my head against a wall for the past 2 years on this issue. It is firmly my position that we must split from GPEW and stand on our own two feet as a Welsh party.”

In his statement, the former deputy leader also branded the Green Party’s passing of a controversial motion to define Zionism as racism as “pointless”.

The motion, which was passed at the weekend, called for a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine”.

The party’s leader, Zack Polanski, was barred from Israel after the new policy was confirmed.

Davies said: “The passing of the Zionism is Racism motion was merely the final nail in the coffin for me.”

He added: “We as a party have always supported Palestinian rights and been clear in our position that the Israeli state is committing a Genocide of the Palestinian people.

“This motion to me achieves nothing materially to help people in Palestine and by committing us to a single state solution act against one of our four pillars of Green Politics of Grassroots Democracy.

“It feels very imperialistic to me for us in the UK to be telling people in the middle east what their futures should look like. Much in the same way that as a proud Welshman I wouldn’t want people in England telling me what Wales future should look like.”

Davies also raised concerns about the Greens’ “lack of long-term strategy for gaining power”.

He said: “It too often feels like within GPEW we rush for election or by-election without any long term planning for how we actually gain power within a UK context.

“As somebody who has travelled around Wales and England helping to try to get elected and the expense of my own time and money, I feel exhausted and fed up with doing this when I can’t see what the long-term plan is supposed to be.

“The whole party feels reactive rather than proactive to me.”

Davies apologised for having to leave close friends within the party, adding that he had “nothing but respect” for the Green Party’s elected Senedd Members and councillors within Wales.

“I can no longer personally stay within the party whilst it remains within a GPEW context,” he added.

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