Image Source: Wales Green Party
Health & Social Care
The Greens want a new long-term workforce plan for NHS and social care covering the next 20-30 years.
Much as with the other parties, they want a 10-year Women’s Healthcare Plan.
On public health, the Greens support a prevention-first approach to healthcare, including expanded social prescribing. They also aim for Wales to be smoke-free by 2030.
They support NHS Wales drafting its own guidance on gender ID for under-18s, including access to puberty blockers.
The Greens would make being cared for in a chair for longer than 24 hours a “never event”.
They would seek to increase senior clinical/consultant decision-making at weekends, pause hospital bed reductions and restore district nursing and community care capacity.
The Greens would draft a new National Cancer Strategy and supports introducing a lung cancer screening programme.
The Greens would increase funding for GP and dental services, whilst setting national targets for NHS GP and dental access.
They support the creation of local health and wellbeing hubs bringing allied health services closer to communties.
The Greens believe that social care should be not-for-profit.
They would introduce a Youth Mental Health Plan and expand in-school mental health support for those who fall short of needing specialist mental health services. This would include increased investment in early intervention on neurodiversity.
The Greens support improvements to post-birth mental health services for new mothers, and would protect funding for hospices.
Education & Childcare
The Greens support extending universal free school meals to secondary schools.
They also support limiting branding on school uniforms and encouraging clothing swap schemes (to reduce uniform costs), in addition to continuing to provide free period products in schools and colleges.
On the curriculum, the Greens back “evidence-based” approaches to improving literacy, and believe that all learners should have “meaningful cultural awareness”.
They support a ban on mobile phones in schools, and oppose the closure of small rural schools.
They would introduce a fair pay deal for school support staff, bring in a national supply teacher register, and increase the time teachers have to prepare lessons or mark assessments (PPA).
The Greens would strengthen the Additonal Learning Needs (ALN) system, focusing on early intervention.
The Greens would invest in apprenticeships, particularly those related to home retrofitting. They would also simplify credit transfers to allow students to move between institutions more easily.
They would set a target to increase the university participation rate to 40% by 2030 and increase student maintenance support.
Longer-term, they would review university funding with a view to eventually making higher education free, or lowering tuition fees.
The Greens would expand the Seren programme (encourage Welsh students to study at top universities). They would also hold an independent review into further education, with a view to expanding course availability in healthcare and green industries.
The Greens back universal childcare from 9 months to 4 years old. This would be a minimum of 20 hours a week for 2-4 year olds (expanding to 30 hours), with a sliding scale of fees (based on income) for any hours provided above this.
Economy & Transport
The Greens would replace business rates with a Land Value Tax and would introduce a Vacant Land Tax.
They support extended borrowing powers for the Welsh Government. Additionally, they would develop Transformation Bonds to allow citizens to invest in green economy projects.
They support Wales receiving a full funding consequential for rail projects based mainly in England (like HS2).
They support the Wales Pension Partnership divesting from fossil fuels and the arms trade.
There’s a general focus on creating “green jobs”, with a Community Wealth Building Bill introduced to retain more spending power in Wales.
Like other parties, the Greens would change procurement rules to support local businesses, cooperatives and social enterprises. They also back the full development of Bank Cambria/community bank.
Longer-term, the Greens support a gradual shift to a four-day working week.
Bus transport is front and centre of the Green transport plans.
They would cap adult bus fares at £1 and introduce free bus travel for the under-22s. To support this, they would bring in a single timetable national bus network, with contactless bus payment rolled out nationwide, more frequent bus services in early mornings, evenings and weekends and more express bus routes – particularly cross-valleys.
They want at least 10% of the transport budget to be spent on active travel/walking & cycling. The aim is to double the number of journeys made by walking or cycling by 2030, with safe routes to schools prioritised.
They support the default 20 mph speed limit in built-up areas, and would expand fast-charging electric vehicle infrastructure.
On rail, they support a rolling programme of rail electrification and (in principle) support a north-south rail link.
The Greens would review public funding for air travel and Cardiff Airport, with a view to ending subsidies by 2030.
Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs
The Greens would seek powers to place Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water into special measures as the first step towards bringing it into public ownership.
The Greens would establish a new Office of Environmental Governance, with legally binding biodiversity targets. They would introduce a “polluter pays principle” for contaminated land, coal tips and historic pollution. They would work with the UK Government to ban “forever chemicals”.
A Land Reform Act would give communities stronger rights to acquire land and buildings, backed by a Community Land Fund.
Elsewhere, the Greens would publish a National Rewilding Strategy, establish a national ranger service and would simplify access to flood defence funding.
On planning, the Green would want Local Development Plans to embed the Placemaking Wales Charter and to strengthen public participation in local planning decisions.
They would set a target for 100% of Wales’ electricity demand to be met by renewables by 2035. This includes 5 GW of solar and 10 GW of battery storage.
The Greens would require rooftop solar on all new buildings and ensure all new houses use heat pumps or other renewable heating systems rather than gas. They support maintaining or expanding current home energy efficiency programmes, such as NEST.
Like other parties, they would like to expand community energy ownership, including introducing a levy for developers if there is no clear community benefit from a new energy project.
The Greens would continue a ban on new coal, fracking, oil and gas licences, and supports a gradual ban on domestic wood burning. They also oppose all forms of nuclear energy. However, they are willing to explore mine water-based heating networks.
The Greens support the Sustainable Farming Scheme. In addition, they support linking farm funding/subsidies to environmental targets through a Welsh Good Food Bill. This Bill would enshrine a right to healthy food in law.
They would expand the Farming Connect advice service. This is alongside targets for 10% of farmland to be organically farmed by 2030, as well as targets to improve soil health and reduce the use of pesticides.
There’s a general aim to increase domestic production of fruits, vegetables and pulses, and use public procurement rules to support Welsh farmers and producers. They would also introduce method-of-production labelling and support a ban on horitcultural peat.
Communities, Housing & Local Government
The Greens would scrap Council Tax and replace it with a Land Value Tax.
They would place requirements on local councils to provide “warm and welcoming” free access to community and cultural spaces, including libraries, youth centres, arts hubs etc.
They would also want all local authorities to appoint a statutory Chief Planner.
A right to housing would be enshrined in Welsh law.
The Greens aim to deliver 60,000 new social homes by 2036, delivered via a national social housing developer. The Social Housing Grant would be increased from its current £437 million per year.
A one-year rent freeze would be introduced as the first step towards rent controls. Landlords would only be allowed to increase rents if they deliver improvements to homes, particularly energy efficiency. The Welsh Housing Quality Standard would be extended to the private rental sector. Stronger housing regulations would be drafted on ventilation to deal with damp.
There would be a ban on no-fault evictions, a moratorium on the sale of social housing and a Housing Ombudsman would be established to handle housing-related disputes.
The Greens support a ban on leaseholds, replacing them with freehold, commonhold or cooperative ownership (including conversion of existing leaseholds).
Additionally, landlords would not be allowed to “unreasonably” ban tenants from keeping pets.
Much like other parties, they would support a Community Right to Buy to protect local buildings and venues.
They support the idea of using citizens’ assemblies to encourage greater public involvement in decision-making.
The Greens back the Nation of Sanctuary programme. They would take what they describe as a zero-tolerance approach to violence against women & girls, misogyny and racism, with dedication action plans.
They would create a post of Minister for Disabled People.
The Greens would also set clear targets to reduce the prison population through crime prevention and rehabilitation.
Culture & Country
The Greens support a St David’s Day bank holiday.
They would seek to have a dedicated Cabinet-level post for Arts, Culture & Language. They would also want to introduce a Culture Bill to guarantee community access to cultural spaces and services. This includes placing duties on local authorities to ensure sports pitches, sports halls and play areas are safe and accessible.
They would seek to bring in a “Right to Roam”, support Eisteddfod-style events in every school, and would back migrant and multicultural-led arts such as the Music of Black Origin Wales Fund.
The Greens also support a Local Journalism Fund for independent local news.
The Greens want everyone to have a right to learn and use Welsh. They support public bodies “actively increasing” the use of Welsh in the workplace.
They support free Welsh language learning and cultural opportunities for people aged 8-25, as well as expanding teacher training programmes to include Welsh language immersion.
While they officially support Welsh independence, for now the Greens support Wales having the same devolved powers as Scotland, including devolution of the Crown Estate and criminal justice.
As well as supporting Barnett Formula reform, they also back devolution of broadcasting and media powers.
They support automatic voter registeration, would review the new closed-list proportional voting system introduced for Senedd elections, and would seek a gender-balanced Senedd in 2030.
On administrative reforms, they would seek to modernise Welsh law so it’s “clear, accessible and focuses on improving people’s lives”. They also want an independent assessment of Brexit’s impact on Wales.
Overall Ranking
Each area is marked out of 5, giving a total score out of 20.
Costings
Do they explain how much their policies would cost and where the money would come from?
0/5
The only “hard” financial figure concerns the Housing Support Grant. There are no figures elsewhere despite putting forward hefty spending commitments. While they propose big changes to taxes, there’s no assessment of the impact. It’s a poor showing, but this manifesto is more about positioning the Greens for coalition negotiations than running the Welsh Government.
Clarity
How easy is their manifesto to understand? Do they make it clear what they want to do?
3/5
It’s readable. They go into a bit more detail than some of the other parties on what they would like to do, but this is mainly filler/narrative. Whether they explain in detail depends on the topic; housing and environment are detailed and well thought-out, health and the economy are less so. There’s quite a bit of repetition too, so some policies are mentioned more than twice.
Practicality
Do they explain how they would deliver their promises in any detail? Do they say how long they would take?
4/5
Their headline policies (bus fares, housing) are quite realistic (costings aside). I wouldn’t say there’s anything in there that was too pie-in-the-sky, and they would be able to find agreement with other parties on some of their proposals, particularly Plaid Cymru and Labour. A few suggestions are very much ambitions rather than concrete promises (i.e. four-day week, smoke-free Wales). Some of their plans around the private rental market and nationalising Welsh Water would certainly run into legal problems if not worked out properly.
Devo-Compatibility
Does the Senedd have the power to deliver their manifesto promises?
3/5
The majority of it is relevant to a Senedd election. The bit about criminal justice is confusing, as it’s more what they would like to do if the powers were devolved rather than stuff within the Senedd’s current powers. I was also surprised that they seem not to realise that rail infrastructure isn’t devolved, so they wouldn’t be able to deliver their electrification pledge.
OVERALL SCORE
10/20
There are some genuinely headline-grabbing policies. It’s clear which policy areas will be at the top of the list for the Greens when it comes to coalition or budget agreements: housing, childcare, their bus fare policy and the environment. To that end, it’s perfectly fine.
TL;DR: What stands out?
The Greens Big Five Pledges
- £1 adult bus fare cap.
- Replace council tax with a land value tax.
- Taking the first steps towards rent controls.
- Take the first steps towards nationalisation of Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water.
- 100% of Wales’ energy needs to be met from renewables by 2035.
Five Unique Policies
- Universal free school meals in secondary schools; other parties propose an extension, but often only to children from households receiving Universal Credit.
- They want to increase university participation. Discussion is often about maintaining current levels or directing young people towards trades. Refreshing.
- Extending social housing quality standards to the private rental sector. This is likely to be popular with tenants and very, very unpopular with private landlords.
- Increasing hospital consultant availability at weekends. Has anyone else thought of that? It’s a known problem.
- The bit about issuing bonds to enable the public to invest in green projects in Wales.
Five Quirks
- Housing is a very high priority for the Greens, especially when compared to other parties.
- “Increase domestic production of fruits, vegetables…. and pulses”. No stereotypes here.
- Given how much active travel has dominated discussion around transport policy in Wales for the last few years, it’s the Greens who have put walking and cycling front and centre (which you would expect, but it still stands out compared to the other parties).
- Supporting a ban on mobile phones in schools. I wasn’t expecting that from them to be honest.
- They’re the only party mentioning a four-day working week as far as I can tell.
Five Bullshit Alarms
- Scrapping council tax entirely – whilst not a bad idea in itself – would be a big undertaking. We deserve to have seen more on the implications of such a policy change; it’s easy to write off, otherwise.
- When you look into the details of their proposed changes to childcare, it might make the system more complicated and expensive to deliver – particularly the flexibility element and tapered fees based on incomes.
- “Modernising Welsh law” is already being done as consolidation bills.
- As noted, rail infrastructure isn’t devolved. Although they effectively call for it to be devolved by wanting the same powers as Scotland, they can’t really promise anything rail-wise. They jumped the gun on wanting to reduce the prison population for the same reason.
- The bit about local councils being required to provide free access to community spaces is unclear. Most of these are run by town & community councils and are, by definition, “warm and welcoming” community spaces.
Common Ground
What key policy plans do the Greens share with the other main parties?
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Labour
Health & Social Care
- Both want a dedicated women's health care plan.
- Both support a lung cancer screening programme.
- Improving access to GP and dental appointments (with some differences on the specifics).
- Improved mental health services for new mothers.
- Earlier intervention on neurodiversity.
Education & Childcare
- Introduce a fair pay deal for school support staff.
- Both want to reduce teachers' workloads (but differ on the how).
- Both back the Seren programme.
- Both support free period products (though the Greens focus on schools and colleges).
- Labour and the Greens want to review FE colleges (though Labour are more focused on finances).
- Support maintaining Educational Maintenance Allowance.
- Both support free/subsidised childcare starting from 9 months, though the Greens offer more detail on what they would do specifically.
Economy & Transport
- Labour and the Greens both propose adult bus fare caps (Greens: £1, Labour: £2).
- Support for expanding electric vehicle charging points.
Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs
- Both support action on contaminated land – though the Greens are more specific.
- Both support a ban on peat in gardening.
- Both support expansion of community-owned energy.
- All new homes should use renewable energy.
- Backs the Sustainable Farming Scheme.
- Backs more food being bought from Welsh suppliers.
Communities & Local Government
- In principle, both support leasehold reform.
- Both support some form of Community Right to Buy scheme.
- Both support the Nation of Sanctuary programme.
- Support for greater use of citizens' assemblies to involve people in decision-making.
Culture & Country
- Both back some form of fair funding model/Barnett Formula reform for Wales.
- Labour and the Greens want the Crown Estate devolved.
- In principle, both support devolution of criminal justice (though Labour want step-by-step devolution).
Conservatives
Health & Social Care
- Support a clampdown on "corridor care"/chair care in A&Es.
- Generally supports maintaining or increasing the number of community hospital beds.
Education & Childcare
- Both support a mobile phone ban in schools
- In principle, both support extending free childcare to 9-month-olds.
Economy & Transport
- Both support extending free bus travel to young people (with differences in how).
- Oppose public funding/subsidies for Cardiff Airport.
Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs
- Backs more food being bought from Welsh suppliers.
Communities & Local Government
- In principle, both support leasehold reform.
- Both support some form of Community Right to Buy scheme.
Culture & Country
- Both back a St. David's Day bank holiday.
- Both support measures to increase the number of Welsh-speaking teachers.
Plaid Cymru
Health & Social Care
- Both want some form of Women's Healthcare Plan/Strategy.
- Both want extra support for new monthsd.
- Support for improvements to neurodiversity assessments.
Education & Childcare
- Reforms of the Additional Learning needs system.
- Their plans for free childcare are almost identical.
Economy & Transport
- Both want Wales to receive a Barnett Formula consequential/extra funding from HS2.
- Both want to extend the Welsh Government's borrowing powers (though Plaid are more specific).
- Support for greater ethical investment by Welsh public pension funds.
- Increase procurement from Wales-based businesses.
- Want faster roll-out of contactless bus ticketing.
- Both support a north-south rail link, in principle.
Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs
- Both want the eventual nationalisation of Welsh Water.
- Both support the "polluter pays" principle.
- Stronger action on contaminated land; support a ban on "forever chemicals".
- Both want a new environmental regulator.
- Support for greater public say in planning decision.
- Changes to flood defence funding.
- Legally-binding biodiversity targets.
- Expand community energy ownership.
- Both support the Sustainable Farming Scheme.
- Both want to increase public procurement of food from Wales-based producers (though Plaid have more specific targets).
- Both support a ban on horticultural peat.
Communities & Local Government
- Both support a ban on no-fault evictions and some form of fair rents/rent caps.
- Establish a national social housing developer/agency.
- Both want improved tenant rights to keep pets.
- Both back Nation of Sanctuary.
- Both support a form of Community Right to Buy.
- A focus on crime prevention.
- In principle, both back the idea of Wales setting its own guidance/strategy for gender ID.
Culture & Country
- Both support public funding for independent journalism.
- Both parties are generally in line on what powers they would like to see devolved to Wales/parity with Scotland.
- Both want reform of the Barnett Formula.
- Both want to review the closed-list voting system for Senedd elections.
Reform UK
Health & Social Care
- Both support a women’s health plan (though Reform also propose a men’s health plan).
- Generally supports maintaining or increasing the number of community hospital beds.
- Increasing access to NHS dentistry.
Education & Childcare
- Supports a ban on mobile phones in schools.
- Both want to reduce teachers' workloads (but differ on the how).
Economy & Transport
- Both support a review of business rates (though the Greens want it replaced with a Land Value Tax).
- Oppose public funding/subsidies for Cardiff Airport.
Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs
- Backs more food being bought from Welsh suppliers.
- Support a form of method-of-production labelling on food.
Culture & Country
- Both support a review of Welsh laws/regulations to streamline them.
Liberal Democrats
Health & Social Care
- Measures to deal with corridor care (though the Lib Dems are more specific).
- Improved access to NHS dental services.
- Improvements to mental health supportf for young people.
Education & Childcare
- Improvements to technical training (though the Greens are more specific).
- Support for improved student maintenance.
- Extending free childcare to start at 9 months.
Economy & Transport
- Increase procurement from Wales-based businesses.
- Backing for rail electrification.
Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs
- Measures to protect biodiversity.
- Solar for all new buildings.
- Both support the Sustainable Farming Scheme and the principle of linking farm funding to environmental targets.
Communities & Local Government
- Both support leasehold reform.
- Both support a Community Right to Buy.
Culture & Country
- Supports St. David's Day being a bank holiday.
- They are generally in line on what additional powers they would like devolved to Wales.
- Both support Barnett Formula reform.
Senedd 2026
