Phil Davies, who previously served as the Welsh Greens’ deputy leader, has announced his departure from the political party.
The resignation comes in the aftermath of controversy surrounding a policy proposal defining Zionism as a form of racism, and follows Davies’s calls for the Welsh Green Party to separate from its English and Welsh parent organisation.
In a video published on social media platforms on Tuesday, Davies explained his reasons for leaving after seven years as a party member.
The former deputy leader stated that he had frequently felt marginalised within the organisation.
His departure was driven by his belief that the Welsh branch should establish itself as an independent political entity, separate from the Green Party of England and Wales.
Davies expressed frustration that his role had not received adequate acknowledgment or support from the broader party structure.
He indicated that repeated efforts over a two-year period to address these concerns had proven unsuccessful.
According to his statement, he maintained that an independent Welsh party would better serve the interests of members and supporters in Wales.
The resignation was further prompted by a contentious policy motion approved during the weekend, which described Zionism in explicitly racist terms.
The approved policy advocated for establishing a single democratic Palestinian state across the entirety of historic Palestine.
Following the adoption of this position, party leader Zack Polanski was subsequently denied entry to Israel.
Davies characterised the policy vote as the decisive factor in his decision to leave.
He noted that while the party had consistently championed Palestinian rights and maintained that the Israeli government was conducting a genocide against the Palestinian population, the specific motion would not produce tangible improvements for those affected.
Additionally, he argued that endorsing a single-state solution contradicted one of the fundamental principles of Green Politics, specifically that of grassroots democracy.
The departing politician expressed concern that the policy represented an imperialistic approach, with a United Kingdom-based organisation dictating political solutions to communities in the Middle East.
He drew parallels to his identity as a Welsh person, stating that he would object to external parties determining Wales’s future direction.
Davies also voiced apprehensions regarding the party’s electoral strategy.
He suggested that within the Green Party of England and Wales, there existed a pattern of pursuing election campaigns without sufficiently developed long-term strategies for securing political power at a national level.
He recounted having invested considerable personal time and resources campaigning across both Wales and England, yet felt demotivated by the absence of a coherent forward-looking plan.
He characterised the party’s overall approach as reactive rather than strategic.
Despite his departure, Davies extended his best wishes to elected Green Party representatives serving in the Senedd and local government positions throughout Wales.
He acknowledged that leaving close colleagues had been difficult, while confirming that he could no longer remain affiliated with the party under its current unified structure.