Muslim councillor Mothin Ali, who went viral for his bravery during the 2024 Leeds riots, has entered the race to become the next deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales.
Ali is among several candidates vying for the deputy leadership. Other declared candidates include Antoinette Fernandez, who stood for Hackney North and Stoke Newington in the 2024 general election, and Thomas Daw, a councillor for Wrington in North Somerset.
Ali, who works as an accountant, was first elected councillor for Gipton and Harehills in 2024.
He won largely thanks to his staunch pro-Palestine views, and he dedicated his win to Gaza and thanked Allah (SWT) during his viral victory speech.
His pro-Palestine views, criticism of Israel’s actions, and his Muslim identity have made him a regular target of far-right activists in Britain.
“Our communities tend to be forgotten about. They’ve traditionally been Labour safe seats so the political establishment takes them for granted, because they have nowhere else to go.
I want to give both Muslims and other working class communities options. They can’t be taken for granted anymore. I want to help organise people so they shape the decisions that impact them.
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The far-right are on the rise, we need to get organised so we can fight back. I’ll also ask Muslims to get involved, join by 31st July to vote in these leadership elections and help shape the direction of this party.”
The hero of Harehills
In July 2024, Mr Ali again became the centre of a social media fire storm.
Violence erupted in Harehills, Leeds, after a social care dispute broke out into full blown riots involving members of the Romani community.
As police and locals battled for control of the streets, opportunistic right-wing social media accounts began peddling Islamophobic fake news claiming the rioters were Muslim.
Seeing the escalating unrest, Councillor Ali sprung into action, risking his life attempting to confront rioters, douse fires and assist the police in calming tensions.
Footage of Ali’s actions ended up on social media where right-wing accounts took the images and peddled fake news that Ali was taking part in the rioting instead of helping.
As events in Leeds eventually calmed, the mainstream media began reporting on the councillor’s heroic actions, however, many of the X posts smearing Mr Ali as a rioter have never been deleted.
For his brave actions, Ali became known as the “hero of Harehill.” Ali has since vowed to confront the rise of far-right hate and misinformation, making it a key part of his campaign for deputy leader.
“The political climate in Britain is becoming really toxic. We have the rise of the far-right and the rise of Reform UK. We have organisations which are trying to misguide people. We have to be the party which offers people an alternative.
People are struggling and they are falling for those typical far-right talking points where they blame immigrants and people who look different from them. But we are not different, we are all people.”
Historic pro-Palestine motion
In September 2024, the Green Party voted to recognise Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide at their annual party conference, becoming the first major British political party to do so.
Mothin Ali played a key role in supporting the motion and ensuring it was passed.
Speaking to the conference ahead of the vote, Councillor Ali issued a emotional plea.
“We are going to call it out for what it is. We are going to call it a genocide because if we don’t use the right terminology and call it apartheid then we will never identify that problem and deal with that problem. So I urge you conference, stand with us. Stand with the people of Palestine. We can’t allow this genocide to continue any longer!”
After the motion victory, Ali took to X saying in a post: ”We made history today, the first UK political party to officially recognise what’s happening in Gaza as Genocide, what’s happening in Palestine as Apartheid and continued support for BDS.
“We made sure the party followed through on it’s commitment made during the elections.”
The death toll in Gaza from the ongoing Israeli genocidal aggression has exceeded 41,272, according to recent sources.
The assault on Gaza, which began following October 7, 2023, has also left at some 95,551 injured.
