Mothin Ali

Nominations are now open in the Green Party leadership and deputy leadership elections. While the leadership election is currently getting an unprecedented amount of coverage, the deputy contest is a little more under the radar.

Two candidates announced in May – Antoinette Fernandez and Thomas Daw. Now a third has thrown their hat into the ring.

Mothin Ali announced he’s standing to be deputy leader of the party on 4 June.

Announcing his candidacy on X, Ali said: “We must never stand by and be passive participants whilst the country is being divided and ruined.

“We need to listen, empathise, and communicate with the ordinary person on the street.

“It’s too important, there’s too much work to do. I can no longer sit on the sidelines, so I’m running to be deputy leader of the Green Party”.

Ali initially came to prominence outside of the Green Party for his gardening YouTube channel My Family Garden. 

However, in the last 12 months his profile within the party has grown rapidly. Last May, he was elected as a councillor in Leeds. Following his election, he was subjected to an Islamophobic campaign of abuse from the right wing press and far right commentators.

Two months following his election, Ali was in the headlines again when unrest broke out in his area of Leeds and he actively confronted people who were engaged in rioting and helped put out fires.

Ali was later a key figure in getting a motion passed at the Green Party’s 2024 conference which explicitly called Israel’s assault on Gaza a genocide.

As of yet, Ali hasn’t set a clear manifesto or policy platform for his deputy leadership bid.