Greens open to negotiations with Plaid Cymru, leader says

The leader of the Welsh Greens has said his party is open to negotiations with Plaid Cymru.

Speaking at the Green Party Senedd manifesto launch on Tuesday, Anthony Slaughter said collaboration is “in the DNA” of his party.

Labour has led Wales for more than two decades but, if opinion polling is to be believed, Reform and Plaid Cymru are vying to become the biggest parties after the vote on May 7.

Launching the Green campaign last week, leader Zack Polanski said he believed his party, which currently has no members of the Senedd (MSs), could be “kingmakers” in Wales.

On Tuesday, Welsh leader Mr Slaughter said: “The crises that we’ve outlined and that we tackle in this manifesto are so urgent, we would work with likeminded people where there is common ground to tackle these issues.

“If Reform UK are the largest party in the Senedd, God forbid, I don’t think I need to say it again and again, we would not work with Reform in any shape or form, we would not work with the Welsh Conservatives in any shape or form.

“But if it comes to pass that Plaid Cymru are the largest party, we are open to talking, negotiating.

“Any Green support for a future Welsh government isn’t unconditional, it isn’t just, ‘you’re not Reform, you’ve kept Reform out’.

“There would be key Green objectives that would have to be delivered.”

The Wales Green Party manifesto pledges a scrapping of council tax, to be replaced with a land value tax, a freeze on rents and free bus travel for under-22s.

On Tuesday, Mr Slaughter said he expects his party to have significant influence over the next Welsh government.

The latest YouGov poll published by ITV Cymru Wales forecasts Plaid Cymru to be the biggest party in the Welsh Parliament, with the Greens, who have never won a seat at Cardiff Bay, on course to elect 10 MSs.

Mr Slaughter said: “If the current polling is supposed to be believed, we are on track to have significant influence, in some shape or form, over the next Welsh government.

“This is a historic election for Wales, things are going to change, we are going to deliver that hope that we’ve promised.”

Both Plaid Cymru and the Wales Green Party are in favour of Welsh independence.

However, Mr Slaughter previously said the Greens will not be “pushing a pro-independence agenda” in this election.

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: "The people of Wales will decide the election, and it is not for anyone else to second guess that outcome.

"After 27 years of Labour First Ministers, it's clear this election offers Wales a historic opportunity for change. But that change is yet to be decided - with poll after poll showing two very different futures: Reform's division versus Plaid Cymru's hope.

"Plaid Cymru is the only party that can stop Reform in their tracks, becoming the largest party in the Senedd to deliver on our credible plans for government: from strengthening the economy and supporting Welsh-owned businesses, tackling Labour's NHS waiting list crisis, and giving children the best start in life."