Labour to End Cooperation with Greens in 11 English Councils over Zionism Policy
Labour announced it will cease coalition arrangements with Green parties in 11 councils after the Greens adopted a motion labeling Zionism as racism, while maintaining ties where the motion has been rejected.
Labour said it will terminate all coalition or partnership agreements with Green party groups in 11 English local authorities after the Greens passed a motion at their conference describing Zionism as racism and calling for a single Palestinian state. The councils affected include Arun, Derbyshire Dales, Havant, Lewes, Sheffield, Stafford, Warwick, Wealden, West Devon and West Suffolk, with cooperation already halted in Runnymede.
Labour noted that six Green council groups – Broadland, Monmouthshire, North Somerset, Rother, West Oxfordshire and West Sussex – have condemned the motion, allowing existing deals to continue. The party also highlighted a similar situation in the West of England mayoralty, where a Labour mayor works alongside a Green deputy mayor.
"The motion crosses a line and we cannot work with any party that supports it – at any level of government," Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said, adding that the party had previously warned local Labour groups to review and end any agreements with Greens unless the policy was rejected.
The Greens expressed disappointment, arguing that the move would harm residents in the affected areas. Former co-leader Adrian Ramsay and other party figures have urged local Greens to renounce the policy, while party leader Zack Polanski rejected what he called Labour’s “lectures” on the issue.
The motion equates Zionism, the movement for a Jewish state, with racism, rejects a two-state solution and calls for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state with equal rights for all. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has written to the Greens seeking further information on the motion’s implications.
"Any local power-sharing arrangement cannot come at the expense of upholding the moral obligation we have to stand up for everyone in our communities and the values we share," Phillipson said, praising the Green groups that disavowed the policy and urging the rest to rescind it.
In a joint statement, the Greens and the Local Government Association’s Green group said they were "hugely disappointed" by national parties forcing local leaders to abandon successful progressive partnerships. They argued that such ultimatums ignore local voters’ choices and destabilise effective governance.
The motion was approved by just over 1,000 Green members, about 0.4% of the party’s total membership, and has been criticised by four of the party’s five MPs and former leader Caroline Lucas.