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Labour set to end up to eight Green council coalitions over motion
Labour is expected to announce which local power-sharing arrangements with the Greens will end after the Greens passed a conference motion describing Zionism as racism. Labour asked its local partners to condemn the motion and urge the party’s national leadership to reconsider it, making the future of the agreements a test of how the parties respond to the dispute.
The review covers 17 councils in England and one in Wales, and reports suggest up to eight deals could collapse. Green councillors on Lewes District Council said their agreement with Labour had already been dissolved. Green leader Zack Polanski has said he would not seek to overturn the member-approved motion but wanted to amend it at the next opportunity; former co-leader Adrian Ramsay called the party’s response a crossroads.
In short
- Labour is reviewing its local power-sharing deals with the Greens.
- Up to eight arrangements could end after the disputed motion.
- The review covers 18 councils across England and Wales.
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 coalition partners should be expected to address a motion that it regards as harmful or discriminatory, and that asking them to condemn it is a reasonable test of shared standards. Ending agreements where partners cannot agree on that response may protect trust with affected communities and clarify the principles on which local cooperation rests.
The case against
Greens can argue that the motion was approved through their members’ democratic process, and that local councillors should not be required to repudiate it to retain practical working arrangements. They may also see dissolving coalitions across councils as a disproportionate response that risks disrupting local services and cooperation over a national party dispute.
Explained simply
Labour and the Green Party sometimes share control of councils, with councillors from both parties agreeing to work together on local decisions. These arrangements can help parties govern when neither has enough seats to do so alone.
The dispute centres on a Green Party conference motion about Zionism, a term with different meanings but commonly associated with support for a Jewish state in Israel. Labour asked its Green partners to condemn the motion and press their national leadership to reconsider it; Green leader Zack Polanski has said he will not seek to overturn it, though he wants to amend it.
The council agreements are local, but they depend on trust between the parties. Their future matters to how councils are run and reflects wider disagreements over how the Green Party responds to the motion.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Labour ‘to ditch half of local coalitions with Greens’ amid fury at ‘Zionism is Racism’ policy”.