Prynhawn da cynhadledd.
Good afternoon conference.
Greetings from Wales.
Greetings and congratulations on a truly transformative General Election result that has changed the political landscape. The election of our fantastic four for twenty-four and record-breaking results for Greens across England and Wales shows that the old two-party system is finished. Voters are tired of stale ‘business as usual’ politics, tired of endless austerity and ever-increasing inequality, tired of the lack of meaningful action to tackle the climate and nature crises. They know that it doesn’t have to be like this. They know a better future is possible. This is why increasing numbers are joining, supporting and voting for us, recognising that only the Green Party is offering a truly radical vision of a greener, fairer future, offering real hope and real change.
That change is visible on a daily basis in Westminster where our four new MPs have hit the ground running and are delivering real scrutiny, pushing the government to be braver and bolder, and showing that a different way of doing politics is possible. Building on the years of tireless work from Caroline Lucas they are showing the positive change that elected Greens deliver. Carla, Adrian, Ellie and Siân, congratulations and thank you for all you are doing.
In Wales our election results were equally groundbreaking. For the first time we stood a full slate of candidates across Wales giving every voter the opportunity to vote Green. This resulted in our highest ever vote share with strong results and advances across the country, particularly in Cardiff, where in my constituency of Cardiff South and Penarth we achieved a historic breakthrough, coming second with 14.7% of the vote.
This record-breaking vote is a game changer. Combined with high votes across the other Cardiff constituencies it puts us in touching distance of electoral success in the 2026 Senedd Cymru election under the new voting system. A system that sees the end of ‘fist past the post’ in Senedd elections.
Recent polls show this breakthrough is possible and it is increasingly raised in the Welsh media. While we are confident that this success is achievable, we are in no way complacent. The General Election results showed the level of commitment required to achieve electoral success at a national level and we have a very full and intense twenty months of campaigning ahead of us. So, keep an eye on your inboxes as we will be inviting members from across the party to join us campaigning in Cardiff over the coming year. Conference, with your help and support we can, we must, and we will get our first Green elected to the Senedd in 2026.
That elected Green voice in the Senedd, our national parliament, has never been more needed. After over a quarter of a century in power in Cardiff Bay Welsh Labour have become tired, listless and inward looking and are failing to deliver for the people of Wales. As a government they are so often well-meaning in ambition but failing in implementation.
All too often communities across Wales are offered warm words but no meaningful action. We see this in Port Talbot steelworks where the imminent closure of the second blast furnace will have a devastating effect on the highly skilled workforce, their families and the surrounding communities. The need for the transition to green steel production has been understood for decades yet successive governments in Westminster and Wales have stood by leaving the future of communities at the whims of a multinational company. As Greens, we understand that there can be no climate justice without social justice and working-class communities should not simply be abandoned as a result of the necessary decarbonisation of industry. The people of Wales know only too well what happens when governments and industries walk away from communities. The Green Transition must be a Just Transition.
Steel has a crucial role to play in the infrastructure needed for the Green Transition and Wales Green Party believes that the industry should be in public ownership enabling Wales to lead the way in the new Green Industrial Revolution.
From the NHS to education and more the list of failures on the part of the Welsh Government is a long one and for too long they have hidden behind the fig leaf of blaming the Tories at Westminster. Of course, the impact of the previous cruel and incompetent Conservative UK government can never be underestimated, but for too long Welsh Labour has avoided using the levers in their control to full effect. Now with Labour governments at both ends of the M4 we were promised things would be different. Yet we see another government, with the support of Welsh Labour MPs, intent on continuing the Westminster power grab and resisting devolution, most recently refusing to contemplate devolving the Crown Estate to Wales as it is to Scotland, a move that would enable Wales to truly benefit from its plentiful renewable energy resources. Ironically, devolution of the Crown Estate is Welsh Labour policy.
Red team or Blue team. Westminster isn’t working. Wales deserves better.
This is why Wales Green Party will continue to campaign alongside other progressive organisations for an independent Wales. The future of Wales should be in the control of the people of Wales.
The ongoing neglect of communities and complacency at the heart of government is creating a vacuum in our politics that is all too easily exploited by the snake oil salesmen of the far right with their agenda of hatred and fear. While Wales, thankfully, avoided the recent spate of racist rioting that took place in England we can not afford to be complacent. The same tensions and conditions exist across Wales as shown by the very strong result achieved by Reform in the recent General Election in Wales, coming second in thirteen seats, a result that should be deeply worrying. More recently we saw the defection of three independent Councillors in Torfaen to Reform giving them their first elected Councillors in Wales.
As Greens we must work within our communities to resist this swing to the far right, calling out fascism and racism for what it is wherever we find it. We know that it is not people arriving in small boats that threaten our society and future, but those that travel by private jet and limousine.
Those seeking to sow division, and hatred cannot hide behind a cloak of party-political respectability. They must be challenged, both within our communities at the ballot box.
This is why Wales Green Party will again be standing a full slate across Wales in 2026 giving all voters the opportunity to vote for our vision of hope and radical change and not the politics of fear and division.
At a time of multiple crises, from the climate emergency, environmental degradation and outrageous levels of poverty and inequality within our communities we are the only party offering the radical and necessary solutions. From taxing the ultra-wealthy to fund decent public services for all, providing warm affordable housing and protecting renter’s rights, clamping down on climate wrecking industries, restoring nature and more, our vision of radical hope and real change is increasingly being recognised by voters across both nations.
I am confident that we will continue to grow and build on this year’s amazing results and get increasing numbers of Greens elected at every level of government. Not least in 2026 when we will get the elected Green representation at the Senedd that Wales so desperately needs.
Diolch
