Green Party co-leader denies split over trans rights
The Greens have denied a split at the top of the party over trans rights, as they appeal to voters ahead of next week’s local elections.
Carla Denyer defended fellow co-leader Adrian Ramsay after he failed to say whether he still believed “trans women are women”.
This cast doubt over the stance of the defiantly pro-trans party and raised questions over whether the two leaders were at odds.
But as she joined activists on the campaign trail in Kent on Friday, Ms Denyer claimed she and her fellow Green MP were still unified but couldn’t say whether they had spoken about the contentious issue.
She told Sky News: “Green Party policy is clear that trans women are women, trans men are men, and non-binary identities exist and are valid.
“I support that policy and I know that Adrian and I are united in standing up for trans rights and for women’s rights.
“I don’t see those in conflict, I understand some people will express themselves slightly differently, and I absolutely understand why a man, a cis-man, might feel slightly uncomfortable defining womanhood from the outside.”
Local elections
It may have caused some tricky conversations this week, but the issue is unlikely to have a huge impact on next Thursday’s elections.
And as the campaigners and candidates went from door to door in the town of Dartford, it became clear that they were feeling confident.
Green Party co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay. File pic: PA
Although the Greens only have five seats on Kent County Council, they are contesting almost all of the 81 up for grabs and believe they can make gains from the Conservatives, who currently have an overwhelming majority.
It’s a pattern they hope to see across the country, building on previous momentum and capitalising as people lose faith in establishment politics.
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Laying out their track record, Ms Denyer said: “In the general election we quadrupled our representation in the House of Commons and not only that, we came second in 40 constituencies as well, and in the local elections, we’ve increased our number of councillors nearly fivefold.”
Critics though have suggested there may be a ceiling on the green vote and cited their inability to grab attention nationally.
A Reform-shaped problem
This is in contrast to other leaders of smaller parties, in particular Nigel Farage, who has relentlessly drawn the spotlight and driven up Reform support since the general election.
They’re now streets ahead of the Greens in the polls despite having the same number of MPs. So, does Ms Denyer think she can learn anything from her anti-establishment rival?
“Nigel Farage’s model of reform is very much about ego and celebrity and a one-man band,” she said.
“That’s never been the Green Party’s values, we’re a grassroots bottom-up organisation.”
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Whether this strategy will deliver the breakthrough moment they are chasing will be decided when voters go to the polls next Thursday.
Ministers must do “much more” to explain why Palestine Action is a proscribed terrorist group, Harriet Harman has said.
Speaking to the Sky News Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Labour peer said the government looked like it was just “arresting octogenarian vicars who are worried about the awful situation in Gaza”.
Baroness Harman, who was a Labour MP from 1982 to 2024, said the government had a “number of incredibly important duties” with regard to the war in Gaza – including protecting the Jewish community while also permitting free speech.
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She said that as well as ensuring the safety of Jewish venues, such as schools and synagogues, the government also needed to “try and create an atmosphere where the Jewish people should not feel that they are under threat and be asking themselves whether this is the right country for them to live in and be bringing up their families”.
Baroness Harman went on: “They also have to support and uphold the right to free speech and the right of protest. And people have felt so horrified.
“We all have about the devastating loss of life and suffering in Gaza. And so it’s right that people are allowed to protest.”
A number of protests in support of Palestine Action have been organised in recent months following the group’s proscription under anti-terrorism laws in July, after members targeted RAF Brize Norton and damaged two military aircraft.
Protests against the British government’s ban on Palestine Action
Last week, there were calls for the demonstrations to be halted following the attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, in which two people were killed – but a number took place across the country, including in London.
The Labour peer said the organisers of such protests had a responsibility not to allow people to support a “terrorist organisation” but that the government also needed to do “much, more more” to explain why Palestine Action had been proscribed.
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“At the moment, it just looks like the police are arresting octogenarian vicars who are worried about the awful situation in Gaza,” Baroness Harman said.
“So they’ve got to actually be much clearer in why Palestine Action is a terrorist group and that they’re justified in prescribing them and making them illegal.
“But also the police have got to police those marches in stopping them being about the spouting of hatred and inciting violence, with people talking about globalising the intifada, which basically means killing all Jewish people.
“And the police do actually have very wide-ranging powers, not just to arrest people, but to actually ban marches.“
EU lawmakers have sought to introduce Chat Control, while the UK and Australia are on track for digital ID systems. Pavel Durov warns that these “dystopian” measures must be stopped.
Politics
‘The time is now to stop Reform’ – Plaid Cymru calls on Labour voters to unite behind Welsh nationalists
One party has held court over Welsh politics for more than a century.
Welsh Labour MPs have been the largest group sent to Westminster in every general election since 1922 – and the party has been in government in the country for more than a quarter of a century.
But if the polls are accurate, Labour’s long-standing grip on politics in Wales is fading.
Plaid Cymru and Reform UK are running almost neck and neck, while Labour trails significantly. A recent YouGov poll put Plaid Cymru on 30%, Reform UK on 29% and Labour at 14%.
Plaid Cymru, heading into its conference this weekend, can sense the mood for change in Wales – and intends to show it is ready for government.
Polling last month put Plaid Cymru and Reform UK almost neck and neck in Wales, with just one point between them – while Labour trails
The party hopes to capitalise on disillusioned Labour voters feeling let down by their party under Sir Keir Starmer, and use this to tackle the rise of Reform – which is key to getting it into power.
In his leader’s speech, Rhun ap Iorwerth is expected to position Plaid Cymru as Wales’s progressive force, and the only party capable of taking on Reform.
He will say: “We’re not here to act as Labour’s conscience. We are not here to repair Labour. We are here to replace them.
“If you’ve never voted for Plaid Cymru before, the time is now.
“The time is now to stop Reform and elect a government more radical, more ambitious, more impatient to bring about positive change than any which has gone before it. A government of progress and of progressive values.”
One in five Labour voters in Wales intend to back Plaid Cymru at the Senedd elections in 2026, according to YouGov. But almost a quarter of Labour voters remain undecided on who to endorse.
The topic of independence will no doubt be a contentious issue for voters who are angry about decisions made by Labour in Wales and Westminster, but do not want an independent Wales.
Plaid Cymru supporters outside the Senedd on 8 October
Mr ap Iorwerth has ruled out an independence referendum if Plaid Cymru wins next year’s elections, signalling that he doesn’t want the campaign to centre on independence.
Throughout the conference, Plaid Cymru will position itself as ready to govern. But voters will expect clear plans for the NHS, education, and the economy. The question for the party, both during this conference and over the coming months, will be whether its proposals can win over Labour voters in its quest to beat Reform.
But Plaid Cymru’s challenge to Nigel Farage’s party faces a critical test sooner than May. Instead, its next battle will be in the Caerphilly Senedd by-election on 23 October.
Historically a Labour stronghold at both Senedd and Westminster levels, Caerphilly has consistently returned Labour representatives, with Plaid Cymru as the main opposition at Senedd elections.
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However, this election introduces a new dynamic, as Reform has emerged as a credible challenger, poised to disrupt the traditional two-party contest.
Coming second at this election won’t be a total loss for Plaid Cymru.
If it can come second at the by-election, it will prove the point Mr ap Iorwerth will be making at the conference in Swansea: that his party is the only credible anti-Reform vote.
The full list of candidates standing at the Caerphilly by-election:
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Labour – Richard Tunnicliffe
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Plaid Cymru – Lindsay Whittle
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Reform UK – Llŷr Powell
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Conservative – Gareth Potter
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Green Party – Gareth Hughes
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Gwlad – Anthony Cook
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UKIP – Roger Quilliam
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Liberal Democrats – Steve Aicheler
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