Labour to end cooperation with Greens in councils over Zionism policy

Britain's governing Labour Party has decided to end cooperation with the Green Party in 11 councils across England following the Greens' adoption of a policy recognising Zionism as a form of racism. The decision brings a dispute over the policy into local government, where the parties have participated in power-sharing arrangements.

Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said the motion "crosses a line" and ruled out working at any level of government with a party that supports it. She argued that arrangements to share power locally must be consistent with Labour's values and its obligation to stand up for everyone in the communities those councils serve.

Among the councils where Labour said cooperation would cease were Arun, Derbyshire Dales, Havant, Lewes, Sheffield, Stafford, Warwick, Wealden, West Devon and West Suffolk. Separately, six Green council groups have condemned the motion: Broadland, Monmouthshire, North Somerset, Rother, West Oxfordshire and West Sussex.

Phillipson welcomed the rejection of the policy by some local Green groups and their appeals for the national leadership to follow suit. She said other local groups had failed to meet Labour's conditions, described the policy as divisive and urged the Greens to withdraw it.

The Green Party defended the local partnerships, saying its councillors had worked alongside Labour, independents and Liberal Democrats to maintain stable administrations, safeguard services and bring about improvements. It said leaders from the participating parties were proud of their achievements. The Greens accused those issuing ultimatums of disregarding local leaders' judgments and voters' choices while disrupting successful arrangements.

The disputed policy was approved by activists at the Greens' annual conference in October. With that vote, the Greens became the first major UK party to recognise Zionism as racism. They also endorsed a single democratic Palestinian state guaranteeing equal rights to all ethnic and religious groups, replacing support for a two-state solution.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the motion "antisemitic" in October. The Greens responded that they would "not take lectures" from a government supplying weapons to Israel. On Monday afternoon, November 2, Green leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, said Labour's withdrawal from local power-sharing agreements would "backfire".

Polanski contrasted his party's aims of taxing billionaires, addressing the climate crisis and ending what he described as the arming of a genocide with Labour's decision. He accused Labour of interrupting local services and imposing support for genocide on its councils, and criticised Burnham's political project.