MEET MOTHIN

I was elected as a Green Party councillor for Gipton and Harehills in May 2024.
I’m the first Green to ever represent the ward.

We won after a three-year campaign, beating a 17-year Labour incumbent with a 20% swing and a 7% rise in turnout.

That’s the power of grassroots politics — giving people hope and getting them involved.

I’m a second-generation British Bangladeshi, born in Sheffield. My father was a steelworker.

We moved to Leeds when I was a teenager, and I’ve lived here ever since.

I joined Labour at 18 and was active for years — but disillusionment led me to the Green Party in 2020.

I’ve always been an advocate for anti-racism.

I launched the Dig It Out campaign to tackle racism in horticulture, and I’ve been a vocal critic of the UK’s Prevent counter-terrorism strategy, which embeds Islamophobia in public policy.

In 2025, I was a finalist for Grassroots Politician of the Year at the British Muslim Awards, recognised for building bridges across communities and standing up for people often left behind by the political system.

Because when we show up for each other, we build a politics rooted in justice.

ENDORSE MOTHIN

GREEN ROOTS

My love of gardening started as a child on my parents’ allotment which is where my gardening journey began.

Watching my Mother and Father in their allotment taught me the value and importance of having access to clean, healthy food, and the joy it brings to grow then eat that same food, something that I have tried to teach my own children. 

After my Father passed away, we moved and we had no garden, just a concrete yard.

But my mother and I reused everything we could — old tubs, broken buckets — and built a small garden anyway.

She taught me how to grow, what plants could heal, and how to make the most of what we had.

Years later, when we moved into our own home with a garden, under my Mother's guidance I turned an overgrown mess into a permaculture heaven.

Fruit trees, raised beds, reused materials — my greenhouse is built from my old roof.

Even our treehouse is recycled. Everything has a purpose.

I took techniques I learned from my mother and adapted them to suit a British climate, so not only am I British Bangladeshi but my garden is too!

I’ve taught permaculture in Leeds for over 10 years.

 I also run My Family Garden on YouTube, where I share tips on growing food and sustainability.

What I’ve learned on the allotment still guides me today — if you care for it, it grows. Communities are no different.

POLITICAL LIFE

I’ve always stood up for people — especially when it matters most.

In July 2024, when unrest broke out in Harehills, I stepped in to protect my community. I stood between rioters and police, tried to de-escalate the situation, and even helped put out fires.

That night, people started calling me the “Hero of Harehills.” I wear that title with pride — because it reflects what politics should be about: care, courage, and unity.

#HeroOfHarehills #MothinYourVoice #ThePeoplesDeputy

HERO OF HAREHILLS

Harehill unrest 2024

Image courtesy @Craig Gent

Harehils unrest

Image courtesy @Craig Gent

Harehills unrest

Image courtesy @Craig Gent

Harehills unrest

Baroness Natalie Bennet visited Harehills today with Mothin Ali, including a stop at the site of the recent fires. She later spoke at a packed event at St Aidan’s Church.

Harehills unrest

Baroness Natalie Bennet visited Harehills today with Mothin Ali, including a stop at the site of the recent fires. She later spoke at a packed event at St Aidan’s Church.

ENDORSE MOTHIN

CITY OF BELONGING

In a bid for unity, I campaigned to designate Leeds as a "City of belonging” where all citizens are valued as equals.

We need to respect and nurture our communities, which is why you will always see me and other Greens out getting involved in local events, dealing with potholes and litter-picking!

24 July 2024. Leeds event: From Unrest to Unity. “Leeds city of belonging”.

Baroness N.Bennett & Mothin Ali

Baroness Natalie Bennet visited Harehills today with Mothin Ali, including a stop at the site of the recent fires. She later spoke at a packed event at St Aidan’s Church, highlighting deep-rooted inequalities, the role of divisive actors, and the urgent need for unity and a sense of belonging.

FROM ANTI-WAR ACTIVISM TO EVERYDAY ACTION

I’ve been politically active since the Iraq War. I organised buses to the London demos as well as organising local demos and anti war meetings.

My anti war work naturally led to my involvement in campaigning for the Liberation of the Palestinian people, and was instrumental in the historic motion recognising what is currently taking place in Gaza as genocide at our party conference in 2024.

I speak out regularly —whether it’s for workers rights, anti war activism or the liberation of the Palestinian people. I’ve worked with Acorn on the ‘Boot the Bailiff’s ’campaign to end private debt collection, with Unite to unionise Amazon workers, and helped push the West Yorkshire Pension Fund to divest from anti-apartheid companies.

I strongly believe in supporting young voices and I was a part of the Inner East Leeds Youth Summit - an initiative to show schoolchildren in Leeds how democracy works. I was also a speaker at the last Young Greens Winter Conference.

But the work I’m proudest of? Helping a homeless couple off the streets.

That’s what keeps me grounded. That’s what being a Green councillor means to me.

ENDORSE MOTHIN