THE man who had been leading the Green Party in Wales has quit to join Plaid Cymru.

Grenville Ham, who was elected last year as a Green candidate to Brecon Town Council, revealed he has joined Plaid following its election of Adam Price as leader who takes over from Leanne Wood.

In July Mr Ham was dealt a blow when members of the Green Party in Wales rejected his plan to form an independent party similar to the Scottish Greens. Instead the party members, by 65%, opted to remain formally tied with the party in England.

Mr Ham has confirmed he will now sit as a Plaid Cymru councillor on Brecon Town Council, although the body is non-partisan and isn't split into formal political groups. The Green Party had been the only other political party currently represented on the town council which has a majority of Labour members.The councillor, who represents the St Mary's ward, said: "I have formally changed my declaration of interest with the town council to be a Plaid member this morning."My hope is that wouldn't be any concern to any local person. I am the same person and have the same beliefs I had before but I can understand if people would be concerned but it doesn't change anything I do on a local level."He added that as the sole Green councillor on the council his decision didn't impact the council or any other councillor.Mr Ham said his decision to quit the Greens was due to frustration at a "lack of understanding" of devolved politics within the party.

Mr Ham has told the website Nation.Cymru he was "unashamed" that he wanted the Green Party’s sole focus to be on Wales.

He said: "Some may ask why I didn’t join Plaid in the first place, but I was brought up believing the myth that it was a party for Welsh speakers. My experience over the years have shown me that this simply isn’t the case, and that Plaid is a party that welcomes anyone who calls Wales their home."

Under Mr Ham’s leadership the Green Party won its first county council seat in Wales when Emily Durrant captured the Llangors ward. She formed a group with the council’s two Plaid Cymru councillors for her first year as a councillor but she now sits with the Liberal Democrat/Green group on the county council.

Mr Ham had also stood in the 2016 Welsh Assembly elections for the Green Party in Brecon and Radnorshire.