Labour ends Green partnerships in 11 councils after dispute over Zionism policy

Labour is ending cooperation with the Green party in 11 English councils following a dispute over a policy adopted at the Greens’ conference in October. Labour said coalitions and other agreements would cease wherever local Green groups had declined to condemn the motion, which equates Zionism with racism.

The decision affects Arun, Derbyshire Dales, Havant, Lewes, Sheffield, Stafford, Warwick, Wealden, West Devon and West Suffolk councils. Labour said cooperation in Runnymede had already ended because of the policy. The announcement follows an ultimatum issued just over a fortnight earlier by Labour chair Bridget Phillipson, who told local Labour groups to review their partnerships and withdraw unless their Green counterparts rejected the motion.

According to Labour, agreements will continue in Broadland, Monmouthshire, North Somerset, Rother, West Oxfordshire and West Sussex, where Green council groups have condemned the policy. Cooperation will also remain in place at the West of England mayoralty, which has a Labour mayor and a Green deputy mayor, after a similar rejection.

The motion describes Zionism, the movement for a Jewish state, as racism. It rejects a two-state solution and proposes replacing Israel with a single Palestinian state offering equal rights to everyone. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has requested further information from the Greens so it can examine the policy’s practical implications and potential impact.

Phillipson said Labour could not cooperate at any level of government with a party supporting the motion. She argued that local power-sharing must uphold Labour’s values and its responsibility to everyone in the community. While welcoming local Green groups that had rejected the policy, she urged the national party to rescind it and cited Labour’s efforts to remove antisemitism from its own ranks. Andy Burnham has described the motion as antisemitic.

The Greens and the Local Government Association Green group expressed disappointment in a joint statement, arguing that national party intervention was putting effective local partnerships at risk. They said cooperation between Green, Labour, independent and Liberal Democrat councillors had supported stable government, protected services and benefited residents. They accused those issuing ultimatums of disregarding local leaders’ judgments and voters’ choices.

The dispute has also exposed divisions within the Greens. Former co-leader Adrian Ramsay urged local groups to renounce the motion, placing him at odds with Zack Polanski, the leader in England and Wales. The party’s official response was that it would not accept lectures from a Labour government that supplies arms to Israel.

Green policy is determined by members under the party’s direct democracy system. Just over 1,000 votes backed the motion, representing approximately 0.4% of the total membership. Four of the party’s five MPs have criticised it, alongside former MP and party leader Caroline Lucas.

On Sunday, Ramsay called for changes to the Greens’ internal democracy to prevent a takeover by the hard left. He said some new members might be better suited to Your Party or the Socialist Workers party.