Green Party Deputy Leader, Mothin Ali, reports racial harassment by Reform councillor to Leeds police

Green Party Deputy Leader and Leeds City Councillor, Mothin Ali, has submitted a police complaint and a formal code of conduct complaint to the Council’s Monitoring Officer after being racially harassed by Reform UK councillor Ryan Taylor during a Leeds City Council meeting last night (05:43:00 in).

In his maiden speech, Cllr Taylor gestured toward Cllr Ali while discussing grooming gangs, saying: “some [elected representatives] of a certain colour, who would go as far as state the victims of abuse as a lifestyle choice.” Cllr Ali has described the comments as “racist dog whistles” designed to divide communities rather than address the real struggles facing families in Leeds.

Posting on X after the incident, Cllr Ali wrote:

“Last week, I met a woman at my advice surgery who was sanctioned for simply missing online journal entries. She had to turn to loan sharks just to pay her rent and feed the children she cares for. This is the reality for so many in our communities. It’s why I fight every day for a fairer, more compassionate system.

Meanwhile, Reform are busy selling snake oil. This councillor, instead of offering real solutions, used his maiden speech to push racist dog whistles. While they divide, we’re focused on helping the most disadvantaged in our society and building a future based on justice and care.”

Cllr Ali responded to the incident today, saying:

“These comments were not just offensive to me personally, they were an attempt to stigmatise whole communities. Racism has no place in politics or in Leeds. These comments were designed to silence me, but I will not be silenced. I will not stand by while Reform try to divide and stigmatise my community. My job, as a Councillor and Deputy Leader of The Green Party, is to fight for fairness, justice, and compassion. And that’s exactly what I will continue to do.”

Green Party Leader Zack Polanski said:

“Reform are peddling hate and distraction, while people across Leeds and the country struggle with the cost of living, insecure housing and a crumbling NHS. Mothin Ali has shown enormous courage in calling this out. The Green Party stands fully behind him. Because politics should be about building hope, not spreading hate.”

The Green Party is calling on Leeds City Council and Reform UK to take immediate action to address this incident, and for all political parties to commit to higher standards of conduct in public life.

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Green Party Deputy Leader, Mothin Ali, reports racial harassment by Reform councillor to Leeds police

Green Party Deputy Leader and Leeds City Councillor, Mothin Ali, has submitted a police complaint and a formal code of conduct complaint to the Council’s Monitoring Officer after being racially harassed by Reform UK councillor Ryan Taylor during a Leeds City Council meeting last night (05:43:00 in).

In his maiden speech, Cllr Taylor gestured toward Cllr Ali while discussing grooming gangs, saying: “some [elected representatives] of a certain colour, who would go as far as state the victims of abuse as a lifestyle choice.” Cllr Ali has described the comments as “racist dog whistles” designed to divide communities rather than address the real struggles facing families in Leeds.

Posting on X after the incident, Cllr Ali wrote:

“Last week, I met a woman at my advice surgery who was sanctioned for simply missing online journal entries. She had to turn to loan sharks just to pay her rent and feed the children she cares for. This is the reality for so many in our communities. It’s why I fight every day for a fairer, more compassionate system.

Meanwhile, Reform are busy selling snake oil. This councillor, instead of offering real solutions, used his maiden speech to push racist dog whistles. While they divide, we’re focused on helping the most disadvantaged in our society and building a future based on justice and care.”

Cllr Ali responded to the incident today, saying:

“These comments were not just offensive to me personally, they were an attempt to stigmatise whole communities. Racism has no place in politics or in Leeds. These comments were designed to silence me, but I will not be silenced. I will not stand by while Reform try to divide and stigmatise my community. My job, as a Councillor and Deputy Leader of The Green Party, is to fight for fairness, justice, and compassion. And that’s exactly what I will continue to do.”

Green Party Leader Zack Polanski said:

“Reform are peddling hate and distraction, while people across Leeds and the country struggle with the cost of living, insecure housing and a crumbling NHS. Mothin Ali has shown enormous courage in calling this out. The Green Party stands fully behind him. Because politics should be about building hope, not spreading hate.”

The Green Party is calling on Leeds City Council and Reform UK to take immediate action to address this incident, and for all political parties to commit to higher standards of conduct in public life.

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“Starmer’s instinct was to stand by Peter Mandelson, despite the evidence” say Greens


by Green Party

Responding to the news that Lord Mandelson has been sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the United States, Green Party Leader, Zack Polanski, said:

“Starmer’s instinct was to stand by Peter Mandelson, despite the evidence. His resignation now isn’t a matter of principle; it’s simple political expediency. It’s a symbol of a broken politics where the same insiders always fail up. How long until Mandelson ends up in a high-paid consultancy somewhere? While another washed-up former Westminster insider ends up in Washington? His resignation, like his original appointment, is a sign of a dirty, broken political system.”

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“Starmer’s instinct was to stand by Peter Mandelson, despite the evidence” say Greens


by Green Party

Responding to the news that Lord Mandelson has been sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the United States, Green Party Leader, Zack Polanski, said:

“Starmer’s instinct was to stand by Peter Mandelson, despite the evidence. His resignation now isn’t a matter of principle; it’s simple political expediency. It’s a symbol of a broken politics where the same insiders always fail up. How long until Mandelson ends up in a high-paid consultancy somewhere? While another washed-up former Westminster insider ends up in Washington? His resignation, like his original appointment, is a sign of a dirty, broken political system.”

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Greens condemn Israeli strikes on Qatar 


/ by Green Party

Reacting to reported Israeli strikes on Qatar, Dr Ellie Chowns, MP for North Herefordshire and Parliamentary Green Party Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, said:

“Targeting negotiators in Doha is reprehensible and strikes at the very mechanisms that offer a chance of ending this horror.

“Carrying out attacks on those engaged in talks – while the wider population of Gaza are starved and bombed – is self-evidently not the behaviour of a state seeking peace. It is the behaviour of a rogue state, operating completely outside international norms, which appears determined to pursue violence and undermine any possibility of a negotiated peace. 

“The UK government must unequivocally condemn these strikes and urgently suspend all military cooperation with, and arms sales to, Israel.

“We are witnessing a pattern of total impunity where Israeli military objectives are pursued with devastating civilian cost. That cannot stand. The UK must press tirelessly for immediate de-escalation and a ceasefire, for safe and unfettered delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and for independent investigations to hold perpetrators of war crimes and genocide to account.”

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