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Labour to ditch Greens on council over Zionism vote
Developing story first seen 1 day ago
Sheffield Labour says it will end its coalition with the Green Party and run the city council as a minority administration after local Greens declined to distance themselves from a new national party policy on Zionism. Labour says the policy has damaged trust and cites concerns raised by Sheffield’s Jewish community; nationally, it says it will end Green power-sharing deals unless councillors disown the policy.
Green Party members adopted a motion defining Zionism as racism and supporting a single democratic Palestinian state in historic Palestine, including modern-day Israel. The policy has divided Green figures and drawn condemnation from Jewish groups and other parties. Sheffield’s Green councillors called Labour’s decision a troubling, top-down attack on local democracy and said they remain open to talks; Labour says council services will be unaffected.
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In short
- Sheffield Labour will govern the council without its Green coalition partner.
- The dispute centres on the Greens’ new policy defining Zionism as racism.
- Labour says council services will continue as normal.
How this story developed
- 1 hour ago Sheffield Labour says it will end its coalition with the Green Party and run the city council as a minority administration after local Greens declined to distance themselves from a new national party policy on Zionism.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Labour can argue that the Greens’ new policy, which defines Zionism as racism and backs one state across historic Palestine, has damaged trust and caused serious concern among Jewish residents. Ending the coalition signals that partnership requires agreement on basic standards and gives weight to local community concerns, while Labour says council services will continue.
The case against
The Greens can argue that Labour is using a national party dispute to end a locally agreed coalition, despite Sheffield’s councillors being open to talks. They may also defend the motion as a political position on Palestinian rights and the shape of a future state, while warning that demanding councillors disown it risks narrowing debate and weakening local democratic choice.
Explained simply
Sheffield City Council is run by elected councillors, and parties sometimes share power through a coalition when no party governs alone. Labour and the Green Party have been working together in Sheffield; a minority administration means Labour would govern without a coalition partner and would need support from other councillors to pass decisions.
Zionism is a movement supporting a homeland for Jewish people, and views on its meaning and relationship to Israel vary. The Green Party’s national policy has prompted disagreement within the party and criticism from Jewish groups and other parties. The dispute matters because it has affected relations between Labour and the Greens, and touches on how national party policies shape local alliances.
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