The Ardwick councillor’s move comes weeks ahead of the local elections in May.
Councillor Amna Abdullatif (centre left) from Ardwick has joined the Green Party(Image: Manchester Green Party)
An independent councillor in Manchester has joined the Green Party after being inspired by Hannah Spencer’s campaign in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
Amna Abdullatif, who holds a seat in Ardwick, has switched to the Greens after serving as an independent since 2023.
She was first elected in 2019 and was a Labour member until she quit the party, putting it down to Sir Keir Starmer’s stance on Gaza and Israel.
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Coun Abdullatif said she got involved with the Greens during the Gorton and Denton by-election in February where Hannah Spencer was elected as MP.
The Ardwick councillor said: “I just felt a real connection to what the movement had become for the Greens, the energy of it and how welcoming they were even though they knew I wasn’t a Green Party member.”
She added that she felt part of a party ‘filled with energy and hope for something different for this city but also for this country.’
Manchester council is held by Labour who have a large majority in the chamber(Image: Declan Carey / Local Democracy Reporting Service)
The local elections are taking place on May 7 and one third of council seats in Manchester are up for grabs.
Coun Abdullatif’s seat is not up for election this year.
Her move to the Green Party gives the group four seats in the council chamber in Manchester, on par with the Lib Dems.
Labour runs the council and holds 87 seats, and one seat is held by the Workers Party of Britain.
Coun Abdullatif added: “I’ve been really surprised by the level of energy and people who are just out and about for the first time I’m receiving leaflets from the Greens locally, so there’s definitely a different energy in the party itself.
“I do have a lot of hope that we’ll see a lot more Green councillors come May, particularly in areas like Moss Side and parts of the city that have been fought for a number of years and come close.”
Coun Astrid Johnson, leader of the Green Party on Manchester council, said: “On a personal level the relationship has always been very good because Amna is an incredibly passionate person and intelligent speaker on issues we align with.
“We’re not going all out to convince people to defect, it has to come from councillors themselves [to decide] where their political home is.”