Mothin Ali, the deputy leader of the Green Party, has come under scrutiny after reports revealed his links to two buy-to-let properties in Leeds. The discovery comes as a potential embarrassment for the politician given his party’s staunch ideological opposition to private landlords. According to filings at Companies House, Ali is the sole director and majority shareholder of MA Holdings, a real estate firm established in late 2021 that specializes in buying, selling, and letting property.
The situation appears particularly contradictory following a vote at last year’s Green Party annual conference where delegates passed a motion titled Abolish Landlords. This official policy describes the private rental sector as a vehicle for wealth extraction and calls for an end to private landlordism in favor of massive expansions in council housing. To achieve this goal, the party advocates for strict rent controls and an end to buy-to-let mortgages, the very financial instruments used to acquire the properties linked to Ali.
In response to the revelations first reported by The Times, a spokesperson for the Green Party stated that Ali has acted exclusively in the interest of vulnerable family members for whom he holds caring responsibilities. While the party declined to release specific details due to privacy concerns surrounding these personal family matters, they emphasized that Ali does not appear to be profiting personally from the arrangements.
When questioned about whether Ali intended to divest himself of these assets now that the anti-landlord stance is official policy, the party maintained that its deputy leader remains fully supportive of those goals. A representative clarified that while the language of abolishing landlords is strong, it refers to a long term transition toward social housing through increased taxation and regulation rather than an immediate literal ban on all ownership.
