“It’s changing, it’s changing rapidly. But that still exists. That is a problem. That’s one of the problems I faced.”
Mothin Ali was elected as one of the two deputy leaders of the Green Party of England and Wales earlier this year. At the Greens’ autumn conference in Bournemouth this past weekend, Left Foot Forward spoke to him about the tone of the conference, the party’s electoral prospects and how it can shake a reputation for being a party of the white middle classes.
“The atmosphere here is just phenomenal”, Ali said of the conference, adding: “It seems like we’ve switched on a light switch and the party’s been transformed into a real, real credible political force – something’s that’s going to be ready to take on the big parties.”
The conference took place against the backdrop of the party’s membership growing significantly. At the event it was revealed that the Green Party now has more members than the Liberal Democrats. Increased membership numbers are one thing, but what does this surge in interest in the Greens mean in electoral terms for the party?
Ali argued that next May’s local elections in England offer a massive opportunity for the Greens in light of the growing membership. He told Left Foot Forward: “What’s happening now wasn’t imaginable a month ago. What’s going to happen by Christmas? We don’t know. We’re on an absolute upward trajectory right now.”
He later went on to say that a “conservative estimate” of how many councillors the Greens could have after the May local elections would be “about 1,100”, and that the party could smash “upwards of 1,500”. The Greens currently have more than 850 councillors in England and Wales. Hitting the numbers Ali talked about would require the party to achieve historically unprecedented results. But with thousands of seats up for grabs – including every seat in every London Borough – it is theoretically possible.
Ali said he wasn’t just interested in the top line numbers though. He told Left Foot Forward that he wants to see a significant increase in the representation of people from Global Majority backgrounds among the party’s councillor base. “We still are a white middle class party”, he said, before adding: “It’s changing, it’s changing rapidly. But that still exists. That is a problem. That’s one of the problems I faced.”
Elsewhere, Ali told Left Foot Forward: “In terms of election results, I’d like to see at least 150 councillors within the Green Party from Global Majority backgrounds.” He said there were currently “around 30”, and that hitting these numbers would require the party to “empower local activists” and “empower voices like mine as it was three years ago”.
Ali went on to say: “I was an activist in my local area, a very well known, really credible candidate. But our local party was stuck to ‘target to win’ and my ward wasn’t a target ward, so I got very little support from the local party. 2023, same scenario. 2024 same scenario – and that’s the year I won! So I won as a non-target candidate.”
He then added: “There’s a bit of a trend here. It’s often people from Global Majority backgrounds who are ingrained in their communities, who know their communities. But the Green Party doesn’t. So, when they approach the party and say ‘look, we’ve got a real shot here’, the party’s just not taking them seriously. And that’s a reflection on the party and that’s something the party has to work on. And we’ve taken that step with getting me elected, because now we’ve got someone who takes a slightly different, alternative perspective.”
Outside of the big political questions about the future prospects of the party though, Ali also throughout the interview would consistently reveal a fundamentally human side to his character. He was self-deprecating and willing to be publicly emotionally vulnerable.
When asked how he thought his first speech to the party’s conference as deputy leader went, he simply responded “alright”. Probed on what his favourite moment has been since being elected to his current role, he said: “I think coming home and seeing my mum […] It wasn’t words, it was just the look in her eyes, it was just looking at her face – it just felt like I’ve made her happy.”
And when he offered up something that he’d learnt about the party’s new leader Zack Polanski since working with him, Ali didn’t offer glowing praise on his communication or leadership side. Instead, he focussed on his diet. “I’ve learnt that Zack lives off some powder – he’s drinking something called Huel”, he revealed to Left Foot Forward. He then added: “I don’t know whatever that is, it’s like a vegan drink or something. He came to Leeds and I said look, you’ve got special food […] your food is getting cooked in my house, it’s home cooked food. He’s like – you don’t have to go to all that trouble I’ve got this Huel, so I asked what it is and he’s like it’s this powdered drink. I’m like: You’re not coming to Leeds and eating powder!” (Left Foot Forward later asked Polanski if he lived off Huel. He quickly clarified that he “wouldn’t say ‘live on’, that’s probably too strong”.)
Sometimes interviews go in directions you didn’t quite expect.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
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