Anthony Slaughter
{{Use British English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Short description|Politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Anthony Slaughter
| birth_place = Yorkshire, England, UK
| image =
| occupation = Politician
| office = Leader of the Wales Green Party
| status = Incumbent
| term_start = December 2018
| party = Wales Green Party
| residence = Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, UK
| website = https://wales.greenparty.org.uk/green-party-wales-leader/
}}
Anthony David Slaughter is a politician who has been the leader of the Wales Green Party since December 2018.{{Cite web |last=Mansfield |first=Mark |date=2024-10-23 |title=Anthony Slaughter re-elected as leader of Wales Green Party. |url=https://nation.cymru/news/anthony-slaughter-re-elected-as-leader-of-wales-green-party/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Nation.Cymru |language=en-GB}} He previously served as Deputy Leader from 2014 to 2015.{{Cite web |title=Anthony Slaughter |url=https://wales.greenparty.org.uk/green-party-wales-leader/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Wales Green Party |language=en-GB}} In 2024 Slaughter was appointed as the President of Wales for Europe.{{Cite web |last=Price |first=Stephen |date=2024-09-06 |title=Wales for Europe appoint Greens leader as President |url=https://nation.cymru/news/wales-for-europe-appoint-greens-leader-as-president/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Nation.Cymru |language=en-GB}} He has previously been a candidate for general, local authority and town council seats. Slaughter regularly appears in the media on behalf of the party to discuss political issues including BBC Radio Wales{{Cite web |title=BBC Radio Wales - Sunday Supplement, Senedd Election, legacy trials and US police reform |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000vfgd |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}} and S4C.{{Cite web |date=13 October 2024 |title=Y Blaid Werdd yn dweud y bydd gyda nhw aelod yn Senedd Cymru yn 2026 |url=https://newyddion.s4c.cymru/article/23692 |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=newyddion.s4c.cymru |language=cy}}
Personal life
Slaughter was born in Yorkshire and stated in 2021 that he had lived in "Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan for the last 17 years".{{cite news |last= Mosalski |first= Ruth |date= 28 March 2021 |title= Senedd election 2021: Who's standing in the Vale of Glamorgan? |url= https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/senedd-election-2021-vale-glamorgan-19601724 |work= WalesOnline |access-date= 1 December 2024}} He has worked as a garden designer and landscaper. Slaughter has been involved with and was chair of the local community organisation Gwyrddio Penarth Greening, a grassroots community organisation focused on planting and maintenance of the GPG Community Orchard that serves the local community.{{Cite web |title=Anthony Slaughter - Bylines Cymru |url=https://bylines.cymru/author/anthony-slaughter/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=bylines.cymru}}
Political career and campaigning
In 2017, Slaughter stood in the local authority ward of St Augustine's, a target seat. In the 2019 UK general election, Slaughter stood as the Green candidate in the Vale of Glamorgan UK parliament constituency, coming third, with a 5.9% vote share.{{Cite news |title=Vale of Glamorgan parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/W07000078 |access-date=2024-10-23 |language=en-GB}} The seat was supported by Unite to Remain as part of a coordinated effort with Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats, in the interest of a people's vote for Brexit.{{Cite web |last=harrietking |date=2019-11-09 |title=Vale Of Glamorgan Candidate Picked For Unite To Remain Seat |url=https://wales.greenparty.org.uk/2019/11/09/vale-of-glamorgan-candidate-picked-for-unite-to-remain-seat/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Wales Green Party |language=en-GB}} Slaughter was also a co-founder of the Vale for Europe campaign group, a Vale of Glamorgan grassroots group that campaigned for a people's vote concerning Brexit.
For the 2021 Senedd election, he stood in the Vale of Glamorgan Senedd constituency, obtaining 2.9% in fifth place.{{Cite news |title=Vale of Glamorgan - Welsh Parliament constituency |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2021/wales/constituencies/W09000047 |access-date=2024-10-23 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} During the 2024 UK general election he stood as the Wales Green Party candidate for Cardiff South and Penarth coming second, increasing his vote share to 14.5%.{{Cite news |title=Cardiff South and Penarth - General election results 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/W07000091 |access-date=2024-10-23 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} In September 2024 Slaughter announced "...we will get our first Green elected to the Senedd in 2026" at the Green Party of England and Wales autumn conference in Manchester.{{Cite web |last=Jarvis |first=Chris |date=2024-09-07 |title=Anthony Slaughter: "We can, we must, and we will get our first Green elected to the Senedd in 2026." |url=https://bright-green.org/2024/09/07/anthony-slaughter-we-can-we-must-and-we-will-get-our-first-green-elected-to-the-senedd-in-2026/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Bright Green |language=en-GB}}
Policies and views
Since the Brexit referendum he has consistently campaigned for Wales to have closer ties with Europe. In 2021, Slaughter joined YesCymru, and supports Welsh independence.{{Cite web |last=NationCymru |date=2021-03-01 |title=Wales Green Party leader joins YesCymru |url=https://nation.cymru/news/wales-green-party-leader-joins-yescymru/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=Nation.Cymru |language=en-GB}}
In 2023, Slaughter voiced his support for an "immediate ceasefire in Gaza", condemning the "indiscriminate killing of civilians and collective punishment of a population".{{Cite web |last=Price |first=Emily |date=2023-11-06 |title=Welsh Greenparty leader makes Gaza ceasefire call at conference |url=https://nation.cymru/news/welsh-greenparty-leader-makes-gaza-ceasefire-call-at-conference/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Nation.Cymru |language=en-GB}} Slaughter also supports a tax for the "super-wealthy" to help fund services like the NHS.{{Cite web |date=2024-06-19 |title=Wales Green Party want tax on wealthy to boost NHS and education |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg33k7m0kddo |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}
In 2024, Slaughter released the book Future Wales: A Vision for Green Democracy, which outlined his views concerning "the possible ways forward for our country in an uncertain global future."{{Cite web |last=Slaughter|first=Anthony |date=2024 |title=Future Wales - A Vision for Green Democracy|url=https://cardiff.greenparty.org.uk/future-wales/ |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=Cardiff, Vale and Valleys Green Party |language=en-GB}}