Green Party vote strains prospects for cooperation with Labour and Liberal Democrats
Labour figures say a future arrangement with the Greens is very unlikely after members adopted a binding policy on Zionism and a single Palestinian state.
Senior Labour figures have cast doubt on future cooperation with the Green Party after its members adopted a binding policy describing Zionism as racism and calling for a single Palestinian state in place of Israel. A Labour minister said they could not see how the parties could work together, while a government official urged Labour to rule out a future coalition or other arrangement formally.
Labour has not formally ruled out such an arrangement in the material reported by The Guardian. The debate follows months of speculation about possible cooperation. Green leader Zack Polanski had said the party could consider an electoral pact with Labour under Andy Burnham or Angela Rayner, but ruled one out under Keir Starmer.
Green members passed the policy at their conference by 1,022 votes to 813, despite opposition from four of the party’s five MPs. Labour chair Bridget Phillipson called the move “shameful” and said it underscored the importance of tackling antisemitism. A source linked to the Jewish Labour Movement argued Labour should rule out governing with the Greens, citing concerns about the treatment of Jewish members and equality law.
The vote has also sharpened tensions over the Greens’ existing coalition with the Liberal Democrats in Southwark, where the Greens are the senior partner. After the parties issued a joint statement against antisemitism, some senior Liberal Democrats criticised it and called for their party to distance itself from or leave the arrangement.
Polanski said antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli state “are and must always be completely distinct”, while reaffirming his support for Palestinian rights. He stopped short of endorsing or criticising the policy.
