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Sheffield Labour U-turns on Green deal despite antisemitism row
Council coalition survives despite Labour’s national ban on working with Greens who refuse to reject controversial Zionism policy
Sheffield Labour has made a U-turn and decided to keep running the council with the Greens, despite a national Labour order to cut ties over the party’s controversial “Zionism is racism” policy.
The decision comes just two days after council leader Fran Belbin announced that Labour would end its partnership with the Greens, saying trust between the two parties was “completely broken”.
But following last-minute talks on Wednesday, Belbin confirmed the agreement would continue after local Green councillors made concessions over the policy, which has sparked fears among Jewish residents.
The move puts Sheffield Labour at odds with its national leadership, which ordered 11 councils to end partnerships with the Greens unless local councillors publicly rejected the motion.
The policy, passed at the Green Party conference last month, declares Zionism a form of racism and commits the party to treating it as such.
Belbin, who previously called the motion “shameful and antisemitic”, said the Greens had now acknowledged that not all Zionists were racist and that people had a right to self-determination.
“I am genuinely grateful to the Green group for the constructive way that they have approached conversations with us today about this,” she told councillors.
However, Sheffield Greens have not publicly rejected the original motion, raising questions about whether Labour’s national leadership will allow the partnership to continue.
The local Labour group will now need approval from the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), which oversees its rules and decisions.
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle warned on Thursday that Labour’s position had not changed.
“What happens in Sheffield will be a matter for both the party chair and the NEC to decide, and I hope that the Labour group in Sheffield will bear that in mind as they make their decision,” she said.
The U-turn has drawn criticism from opposition councillors, while supporters of the Green Party motion have celebrated the decision.
Anti-Israel activist Ashok Kumar wrote: “Sheffield Labour capitulates. Greens didn’t give an inch.”
Liberal Democrat group leader Martin Smith accused Labour of a “shameful abandonment of principle”.
“Just days ago, Labour were telling us that trust with the Greens was completely broken and that they could no longer work together. Now they’ve decided to carry on as if nothing happened,” he said.
Labour has 25 councillors in Sheffield, while the Greens have 20, meaning neither party has enough seats to control the 84-member council alone.
Belbin said a further statement explaining how the two parties would continue working together was expected in the coming days.
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