The Guardian reported Oct. 20 that former Green Party of England and Wales co-leader Adrian Ramsay urged local groups that disagree with a Zionism motion to say so, as Labour threatened to end council coalitions.
The Green Party said its conference approved the “Zionism is Racism” motion Oct. 4 by 1,022 votes to 813. The party says the policy establishes an anti-Zionist position and rejects equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Its summary backs a full arms embargo against Israel and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. It also supports Palestinian liberation, the right of return and a single democratic state throughout historic Palestine.
Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson said Oct. 15 that Labour groups governing with Greens should ask their partners to reject the motion and call on national Green leaders to reconsider the policy. She said Labour would end those local arrangements unless Green groups met both conditions. Sky News reported that local Greens were given seven days to respond.
In a statement to The Guardian, Ramsay said groups opposed to the motion should make their position clear to reassure residents and keep council work moving. He urged them to preserve governing coalitions where possible. Ramsay warned that losing joint administrations could put right-wing coalitions in power and threaten services.
“Calling out a genocide is more important than debating definitions of Zionism,” Ramsay told The Guardian.
The Associated Press reported that most elected Green lawmakers had criticized the motion and that Jewish groups had expressed concern. The Guardian reported that Green councillors or groups in Lewes, Warwick and Rother had already rejected it.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski told the BBC that he wanted to change the motion’s single-state provision at the first opportunity but would not seek to overturn the policy. Polanski said party rules would prevent him from amending the motion until at least 2028.
The immediate test for the council coalitions is whether local Green groups answer Labour’s demands within its seven-day response window.
