Former Labour group leader on Carmarthenshire County Council Cllr Robert James has defected to the Green Party.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has welcomed Robert, who represents Lliedi ward on Carmarthenshire County Council, to the Green Party.
The defection comes as the party meets in Cardiff to celebrate almost tripling its membership in two months and to plan a Senedd breakthrough in 2026.
Announcing the defection at Wales Green Party conference, Zack said:
“I know this will be the first of many councillors who we will be welcoming to the Wales Green Party.
“I’m delighted to be welcoming Robert in person at this historic Wales conference where members are planning how to break through into the Senedd in the elections in 2026.
“This defection of a country councillor shows that the momentum is building and more breakthroughs will follow.
“Rob is a pioneer – he was the youngest Labour group leader in Wales, and now the first councillor in Wales to join the Green Party from Labour.
“He won’t be the last – I know there are many more weighting up their decision.”
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.
“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.”
Rob has led campaigns to divest pension funds from fossil fuels, for a locally owned bus company for school pupils and against cuts to local public services.
Anthony Slaughter, Wales Green Party leader, said:
“The moral courage Rob has shown is exactly why he makes a brilliant Green councillor. It also shows the political tectonic plates are shifting in Wales. Our membership in Wales has nearly tripled in two months, closing in on six thousand.
“Our call to make hope normal again has galvanized the public to action, and the momentum around the party is going to carry us into the Senedd in May. We’ll be there to shake up the complacent and tired government that has forgotten the people it’s supposed to serve.”
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