Labour to break coalitions with any local Green party that does not disavow ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion

The Labour party has announced that it will end any local council coalitions with the Green party where the local Greens do not disavow their party’s new “Zionism is Racism” policy, following the Prime Minister describing the policy as “antisemitic” in the House of Commons yesterday.

It is understood that local Labour groups around the country have been asked to write to their Green counterparts, asking them to state publicly that they reject their party’s policy and will call on their leader, Zack Polanski, to reconsider it.

Yesterday, during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, Andy Burnham was asked by a Conservative MP whether he would “rule out co-operating” with the Green party. He responded by saying that he condemned the ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion passed by the Greens “unequivocally”, going on to say “It is wrong, it is antisemitic, and this side of the House will have nothing to do with it.

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“We will always take the right response when it comes to any partnerships we have with other parties.

“We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds the position that has recently been adopted.”

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While this was widely seen as ruling out any potential coalition with the Green party at a national level after the next election, a Labour spokesperson yesterday was unclear as to whether this would also apply at a local level; an issue that today’s announcement has clarified.

Labour currently sits as part of a local government coalition with the Greens in Sheffield, Lewes and Warwick. In another dozen or so areas, Labour and the Greens are part of a broader coalition running a local council area.

At its conference in Brighton on 4 October, members present not only passed a motion claiming that Zionism was racism, but also expressly defeated a motion designed to protect Jewish green party members who attend Synagogues. A number of senior Green party members, including some former leaders, voted against the motion. However, Zack Polanski, the Jewish leader of the Green party, was not one of them, having left his own party’s conference at that point. While he had travelled to London to campaign in a by-election which he subsequently lost, the Green party did offer members signing up to conference the ability to vote remotely – an option which Polanski did not avail himself of.

Local Labour groups will reportedly give their Green counterparts a week to produce the response they have requested, and if that does not transpire, any local power sharing arrangement which has previously existed will cease.

It is understood that while the Liberal Democrats have condemned the “Zionism is Racism” motion, the party has declined to instruct local groups to engage in similar action to Labour, with a spokesperson saying that “Decisions about local council arrangements are made entirely by local councillors on the ground, who know their communities best.”

While some Liberal Democrat local council groups have vehemently condemned the Greens, others, including the Lib Dem local party group in Southwark, have indicated that they will continue to sit in coalition with the Green Party regardless.