Labour pulls out of council power-sharing offers with Green Party over Zionism row

Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said the motion adopted at Green conference last month ‘crosses a line’ as she confirmed an end to cooperation in 11 local authorities

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Labour has pulled out of power-sharing deals with the Greens in a string of councils after a row over the party’s “Zionism is racism” policy.

Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said the motion adopted at Green conference last month “crosses a line” as she confirmed an end to cooperation in 11 local authorities. It means that Labour councillors will no longer work in a coalition with the Greens in places like Sheffield, Warwick and Stafford.

Ms Phillipson said: “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. Labour has been clear from the start that the “Zionism is Racism” policy crosses a line and we cannot work with any party that supports it – at any level of government.”

The move will pile further pressure on Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who has faced criticism in his ranks for failing to intervene as he was campaigning in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. The policy, which effectively called for Israel to be abolished and replaced with a single Palestinian state, has been criticised by leading Greens, and four of the party’s five MPs said they did not support it ahead of the vote.

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Labour wrote to local Green parties last month asking them to publicly disavow the policy and to put pressure on the leadership to abandon it. Several councils have done so, meaning power-sharing will continue in places like North Somerset and West Oxfordshire.

Ms Phillipson said: “It is disappointing that some local Green Parties have not met the conditions Labour has set out. Labour continues to oppose this divisive policy and calls on the Green Party to do the right thing and rescind it. This isn’t an issue of party politics; it’s about doing what is right and upholding the values anyone holding public office should share.”

The Green Party and the Local Government Association Green Group said in a joint statement: “The Green Party, and the Green Group Office, representing Green councillors across the country, have been hugely disappointed in moves designed by national parties to force local council leaders into jeopardising successful progressive partnerships that are delivering benefits for residents.

“Across the country, Green, Labour, Independent and Liberal Democrat councillors have worked together to provide stable local government, protect services and deliver positive change. Leaders across these parties are rightly proud of what those partnerships have achieved.

“Those who issued ultimatums that destabilised power sharing agreements have often ignored the judgements of their own local leaders, failed to respect the choices made by local voters, and are disrupting successful partnerships.”

They said there was work underway to overhaul democratic structures to give leaders more power to set direction and widen member engagement to keep up with the growth in party numbers.

They added: “The Green Party believes top-down directives to break up and disrupt locally-run services are not in the interests of the residents we represent. We trust local communities, local councillors and local leaders to know what is best for them. We ask that others do the same.”

The areas where power-sharing is ending are:

Arun District Council

Derbyshire Dales District Council

Havant Borough Council

Lewes District Council

Runnymede Borough Council (Labour says local co-operation had already ceased)

Sheffield City Council

Stafford Borough Council

Warwick District Council

Wealden District Council

West Devon Borough Council