Common Questions

How many seats are the Wales Greens projected to win in 2026?: YouGov's second 2026 Senedd MRP projects the Wales Greens at 7 seats (down from 10 in the first MRP). A Plaid-Green Coalition would still exceed the 49-seat majority threshold.Source: YouGov
Who leads the Wales Green Party?: Anthony Slaughter is the leader of the Wales Green Party. He described the party as the only left-wing party in Wales and said it was ready to be kingmakers in any post-election Coalition.Source: Lowdown
Who leads the Wales Greens?: The Wales Greens are led by Anthony Slaughter, who described the party as the 'only left-wing party in Wales' and said it is ready to be kingmakers following strong MRP projections.Source: Wales Greens
Could Wales Greens form a coalition with Plaid Cymru?: Yes, arithmetically. A Plaid-Green Coalition would exceed the 49-seat Senedd majority threshold. However, Plaid's Tessa Marshall has called Plaid 'not left-wing enough', signalling friction in any Coalition talks.Source: YouGov MRP

Background

Wales Greens (also known as the Welsh Green Party, or Greens Cymru) is the Welsh branch of the Green Party of England and Wales. Before 2026 the party had never held a Senedd seat. YouGov's first Senedd MRP projected the party at 10 seats under the new closed-list proportional system, giving a potential Plaid-Green Coalition 53 seats — four above the 49-seat majority threshold.

The 2026 Senedd election is the first under a proportional representation system: an expanded 96-seat chamber elected by closed-list PR across 16 six-member constituencies. Under the old single-member plurality system, no Welsh Green candidate had ever cleared the threshold. Leader Anthony Slaughter described the party as the 'only left-wing party in Wales' and said it was 'ready to be kingmakers'. The second YouGov MRP revised the Green projection to 7 seats, reflecting the tightening of the Plaid-Reform contest, but a Plaid-Green Coalition remains arithmetically viable above the majority threshold.

The prospect of a Plaid-Green Coalition triggered public tension: Plaid warned Green votes could 'let Reform in' under the list system, while Plaid's Tessa Marshall called Plaid 'not left-wing enough' — signalling genuine ideological friction in any Coalition negotiation. Wales Greens entering the Senedd for the first time would represent the most significant reconfiguration of Welsh devolved politics since the National Assembly was established in 1999.

Source Material

Wales Green Party

How the World Sees Them

Plaid Cymru

Warns Green votes risk 'letting Reform in' under the list system; views Greens as a potential partner but is managing ideological distance.

Welsh Labour

Projected fall makes Labour irrelevant to the most likely majority coalition options; Greens' rise accelerates Labour's marginalisation in Welsh politics.

Reform UK Wales

Reform regards Wales Greens as evidence of further fragmentation of the left-wing vote, reducing the combined Plaid-Labour bloc and making Reform's 30-seat projection more significant.