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Two high-profile councillors have defected to the Green Party. Former leader of the opposition on Carmarthenshire council, Robert James, and the former leader of Caerphilly council Cllr Sean Morgan have both joined the party. Cllr Morgan was the leader of Caerphilly council until he quit in September , during the Senedd by-election campaign. Having been a member for 40 years, he said Labour had failed to honour its general election pledges and had been "complicit in genocide" in the Middle East. The councillor, who represents Nelson, accused the party of fixing the candidate selection process for the forthcoming Senedd by-election for Caerphilly, where Labour council deputy leader Jamie Pritchard was passed over for the nomination in favour of Welsh language publisher Richard Tunnicliffe. Mr Tunnicliffe came third in the by-election, with his vote share plummeting. Plaid Cymru's Lindsay Whittle won the by-election, with Reform UK coming second. Cllr James was suspended from the Labour Party in 2024 and had been sitting as an independent councillor. Cllr James had led the opposition group at Carmarthenshire Council for nearly six years before that. At the time of his suspension he said he would contest the suspension but Welsh Labour did not comment. The defections mean the Green Party is now represented on 10 of Wales' 22 councils. Cllr James said: "During a time when our communities are the most divided in decades and the struggles our residents face continue to grow, I have joined a party that puts people and this planet first - by tackling crippling inequality, protecting public services and safeguarding the future of our environment. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . "As a Green councillor I will continue to fight for the interests of those living in Lliedi and Carmarthenshire, more widely, to get the changes we desperately need." Cllr Morgan reiterated in his statement that "the Labour Party no longer represents the values of ordinary party members or indeed ordinary people in the country". "It has become increasingly evident over recent months that the Labour Party no longer represents the values of ordinary party members or indeed ordinary people in the country, which has caused me to question the ethics of remaining in the Labour Party," he said. "Reading the Green Party manifesto and listening to the Green Party Leader, Zack Polanski speaking, it soon became clear that there is a political home for people seeking a party focusing on a fairer society. Therefore, it was an easy decision to join the Green Party". When Zack Polanski made his first visit to the capital since he became leader, he met with Welsh leader Anthony Slaughter and he is in Wales this weekend for the Welsh party's conference in Cardiff . The party is, polls project, on course to take its first seat in the Welsh Parliament with Mr Slaughter favourite to be elected, in the seat of Caerdydd Penarth . However, the party is hopeful it will be able to take more than one seat, potentially taking two in that seat. Welsh Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter, himself a candidate for the party in the Senedd election in May 2026, said: "“With the fully proportional Senedd voting system in May, this is another sign Greens will be pivotal in who runs the Welsh government next year."
