Leeds councillor Mothin Ali launches Green Party deputy leadership bid with focus on working class voices

Mothin Ali, who represents the Gipton and Harehills ward, announced his candidacy as part of a growing push to challenge what he described at the party’s middle class perception.

The 43-year-old was elected onto Leeds City Council last year with a significant majority, beating his Labour rival by almost 1,000 votes.

Two months later, he hit the national headlines during the unrest in Harehills for his efforts to stop the violence, intervening in riot scenes and calling for unity.

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Coun Ali’s decision to stand in the contest came partly as a result of wanting to see more people from inner-city areas in leadership positions.

He said: “For a long time, the Green Party has been seen as quite middle class. But, in recent years, a lot of working class voters have voted Green, especially in inner-city areas.

“The Greens have predominantly been based down south, but I think it’s important for the party to have a northern voice, someone who has grown up in an inner-city area and has lived an urban lifestyle.

“I believe that we need a fresh outlook compared to the standard approach that the party has taken, which would be quite a radical move.”

Coun Ali said that he was keen to emphasise how climate change will affect everyone, regardless of background.

“Issues like climate change are not being communicated down to ordinary people,” he explained. “In Leeds, there was rainfall in February, but March, April, and most of May were really dry.

“What does that translate to? Poorer crop yields, because farmers can’t water their crops. And what does that translate to? Higher food prices. That impacts directly on the people in my ward.

“Harehills and Gipton are some of the most deprived areas in the city - and in the country. So, we need to make the message clear - what happens globally impacts us very locally.”

Following unrest in Harehills last summer, Coun Ali organised the City of Belonging event, which brought together more than 250 people together. It’s something that he’s hoping to replicate on a national scale, if he’s chosen as his party’s next deputy leader.

“Community is at the heart of my activism,” he said. “I really believe in empowering people and building social cohesion, and I pride myself on working with communities in order to heal division.

“With the sort of rhetoric we are hearing from certain political parties right now, I want to make sure that our communities are moving together - and we’re not letting anyone feel like they’re being left behind.”

Warning that Britain’s Overton window has “shifted towards the right”, Coun Ali called for stronger resistance to divisive politics, explaining: “It’s easy to focus on minority groups and say that they are the enemies, but it’s harder to tackle the systematic problems in our society, like poor quality housing, lack of access to opportunities, and health inequalities.”

He joins Antoinette Fernandez and Thomas Daw in the race to replace Zack Polanski, the current deputy leader, who is running for the party’s leadership. But despite potentially taking on a national role, Coun Ali was keen to stress that his focus “is always going to be on ordinary people”.

“I put all of my efforts into my local area,” he said. “I’ve got a big heart and I think I could benefit people across the country - but I won’t lose my focus on local issues. I hope that what I’ve done locally can be replicated across the country.”