Exclusive: Wales Green Party deputy leader resigns

One of the two deputy leaders of the Wales Green Party has resigned, Bright Green can reveal. Amerjit Kaur-Dhaliwal has stood down from the position.

Kaur-Dhaliwal was elected to the deputy leadership alongside Helen Westhead in December 2021. At the time of their election, they said: “I am particularly proud to be the first Asian person voted into a deputy leadership position in any political party within Cymru”.

The Wales Green Party has not yet agreed a process for how the next deputy leader will be selected. Bright Green understands that issue will be discussed at a meeting of the Wales Green Party Council in around two weeks’ time.

Speaking on their decision to step down from the deputy leadership, Kaur-Dhaliwal told Bright Green that maintaining the voluntary position during the cost of living crisis was something they could ‘no longer afford’. They said: “I chose to step down as deputy leader of the Wales Green Party for a number of reasons, one of which is that unfortunately, volunteering at this time has become a luxury I can no longer afford, given the cost-of-living crises. I hope to be able to contribute more once I am able to. I will continue to help to move the party forward in order to win over more members, more councillors and a seat at the Senedd table.”

Commenting on Kaur-Dhaliwal’s decision to stand down, the leader of the Welsh Greens Anthony Slaughter told Bright Green that working with them had been a “privilege and a pleasure”. However, he also acknowledged the challenges of leadership positions being held on a voluntary basis, saying it was “unsustainable”.

Presently, all three of the Wales Green Party leadership positions are unpaid roles. A motion was passed at the Green Party of England and Wales’ conference in autumn 2022 calling for the Welsh leader to be remunerated. However, the Green Party Executive (GPEx) is yet to commit the funding for this.

Slaughter said: “Working with Ammi on the leadership team has been a privilege and a pleasure. Their commitment and passion for our party and its aims has been inspirational. Ammi will be very much missed in the Deputy role but I completely understand and sympathise with their reasons for standing down.

“As our party continues to grow, both in membership and ambition, it cannot be sustainable for leading roles in a national party to be undertaken on a voluntary basis. Making progress on this issue is a vital part of our future growth and success.

“I am confident that Ammi will continue to play an important part in our future successes and I would like to thank Ammi on behalf of Wales Green Party for all their work and support in recent years.”

Bright Green interviewed Amerjit Kaur-Dhaliwal on a recent episode of #BrightGreenLive. You can watch the full interview here.