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Green Party crisis: Defections, splits and member exodus over Zionism stance
Zack Polanski's party is facing mounting turmoil
Zack Polanski’s Green Party has been rocked by a wave of councillor defections and a dramatic fall in membership numbers, as fallout continues from the controversial adoption of the party’s Zionism racism policy.
Meanwhile, splits have emerged within the Green Group on Sheffield City Council over the incendiary motion passed at the Green Party conference earlier this month.
Leader Angela Argenzio has taken a hardline stance, supporting the equation of Zionism with racism in response to an ultimatum by Labour.
Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson warned that local collaborations between the two parties would end unless the Greens reject the motion.
Jewish News understands that the future of the power-sharing agreement between the Greens and Labour in Sheffield will be decided next Wednesday. Some sources believe Labour will confirm a split from the Greens.
Labour’s Sheffield council leader Fran Belbin is understood to have relayed “messages of fear and anger” from within the city’s Jewish community to the Green Party leader, in an effort to change her mind over the impact of the Zionism motion.
Belbin previously described the motion as “shameful and antisemitic.”
Three senior Sheffield Greens – Alexi Dimond , Maroof Raouf and Mustafa Ahmed — have publicly backed the motion, and are the driving force behind the attempt to defy Labour.
A wave of defections by Green councillors also continued over the past week.
On Wealden District Council in Sussex, led by Greens deputy co-leader Rachel Millward, Cllr Christina Coleman confirmed on Thursday that she had defected to the Liberal Democrats. Her decision, she said, was driven by concerns about “the party’s direction under Zack Polanski’s leadership and the recent conference motion on Zionism.”
Coleman’s defection was one of dozens of similar moves by Green councillors across the country. Some, including Cllr Drew Creek of Newquay, Cornwall, opted to leave the party for Labour specifically due to the Zionism motion.
On Babergh District Council in Suffolk, Cllr Daniel Potter announced he had defected from the Greens to join the Conservatives. Other Greens in councils—including North Yorkshire, Essex, Braintree, and Winchester—announced they were now sitting as independents.
Meanwhile, Green Party insiders confirmed there had been a “dramatic fall” in membership numbers following the passage of the Zionism motion on October 4 at the annual conference in Brighton.
Internal figures leaked to Sky News suggest membership has plunged from a high of around 231,000 earlier this year to 213,000 now—a drop of 8 percent, leaving the party suffering a £110,000 loss in annual income.
Several Green councils in power-sharing agreements with Labour have continued to reject the demand to condemn the ‘Zionism is Racism’ policy.
The Green Group on Derbyshire Dales council said the party’s constitution would prevent its leadership from overturning the policy, and that they “would not be calling on our leaders to do so.”
In Havant, Hampshire, the Greens group stated it “unequivocally did not and will not conflate Zionism with Judaism, nor anti-Zionism with antisemitism.”
In North Somerset, Green councillors responded that they did not support the motion but also refused to condemn the policy. They added that “improvements were needed in our policy-making,” but stressed that this was not the same as calling for the policy to be reconsidered.
Labour’s National Executive Council is believed to be determining whether some of the responses by Greens go far enough in their condemnation of the motion.
In Sheffield, the Green Group has now issued a new statement, saying they “acknowledge that our party’s motion on Zionism has caused some concern.”
“As a party, Greens advocate for universal and equal human and civil rights, freedom and justice,” the statement reads.
“Our core values are rooted in environmentalism, non-violence, social justice and democracy. We want to be absolutely clear that, as Green councillors, we stand firmly against all forms of racism.”
“We acknowledge that our party’s motion on Zionism has caused some concern, and we recognise that this is a deeply sensitive issue. We take those concerns seriously.”
If Sheffield’s coalition ends, councillors will need to elect a new administration.
But some local government sources say the use of the committee system would mean that even if power-sharing breaks down it not significantly change the running of the council.
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