Greenwich councillor Lakshan Saldin joins Greens
Councillor Saldin, who sits for Charlton Hornfair ward, said that over the last few years the Labour Party has diverged from the values it once held.
Greenwich councillor Saldin resigned from the Labour Party in September 2025 and had been sitting as an independent.
He will now sit as a Green and will stand for re-election as a Green councillor for Charlton Hornfair ward in the local elections in May.
Explaining his move, Saldin said: "I got involved in politics because I believe everyone has the right to feel safe, have equal access to opportunities, be treated with respect, and to be heard."
"For more than three decades I supported the Labour Party in the belief that they felt the same. But after the last few years of Labour in opposition and in government, I no longer believe this to be the case."
"We need political parties that stand up for British values of welcome, inclusivity, diversity and fairness, and celebrate all the people who keep our hospitals, schools and economy running."
He said that the Green Party stands for these values, its councillors will hold power to account and stand up for their communities, and that he would continue to put residents first.
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Saldin joins Green councillor Tamasin Rhymes, who was elected in a by-election for Shooters Hill ward in June 2025.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour councillor Ivis Williams.
The Greenwich Wire reported that Williams quit after she was threatened with suspension from Labour after speaking up for local residents, and on Greenwich Labour's behaviour during the by-election.
Saldin and Rhymes continue as members of the Independents and Greens opposition group, along with independent councillors Anne-Marie Cousins and Majella Anning.
Councillor Anning resigned from Labour in March 2025, saying that she refused to support a party that "balances the books on the backs of the poor."
Four conservative councillors form the second opposition group, while Labour has 47 councillors.
Saldin is an engineer in the energy and energy transition sector and has lived in Charlton for over 25 years with his wife and family.
As well as serving on two council scrutiny panels and the corporate parenting board, he is a trustee with Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust and a volunteer and trustee of the Greenwich Homeless Project and Winter Night Shelter.
Greenwich Green Party reports a marked increase in its membership since the election of Tamasin Rhymes in June and Zack Polanski as Green Party leader in September 2025. Membership has tripled in Greenwich and Woolwich, and quadrupled in neighbouring Bexley.
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