Full list of councils where Labour is ending coalitions with the Greens over ‘Zionism is racism’ motion

The Labour Party has ended its participation in ten local council coalitions following Green Party members voting to brand Zionism a racist ideology at its conference in October.

Labour said it would withdraw from local council administrations if the local Green group did not disown the motion.

The party’s deputy leader Bridget Philipson said: “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 Labour party fought hard to root out antisemitism within our own party and ensure it had no place in our politics. Our action is a demonstration of how today’s Labour party will not shirk from the responsibility we have to uphold those same standards in our relationships with other parties.”

The full list of councils Labour has withdrawn from coalition with the Greens in is as follows:

• Arun District Council
• Derbyshire Dales District Council
• Havant Borough Council
• Lewes District Council
• Sheffield City Council
• Stafford Borough Council
• Warwick District Council
• Wealden District Council
• West Devon Borough Council
• West Suffolk Council

It remains unclear what will happen next in each of these councils. In some, Labour will seek to continue running the council as a minority administration. In others, the party will seek to work with groups other than the Green to continue in power. And in councils like Lewes, the Greens are the largest party, meaning it will likely be up to them to seek to cling on in administration.

There are six other councils where Labour and the Greens will continue to participate in joint administrations, as Labour has decided that the local Greens have sufficiently distanced themselves from the motion. These are:

• Broadland District Council
• Monmouthshire County Council
• North Somerset Council
• Rother District Council
• West Oxfordshire District Council
• West Sussex County Council

The Green Party has responded with heavy criticism of Labour’s decision. In a statement, the party said: “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.”

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward

Image credit – Public domain (Polanski), Lauren Hurley / Number 10 – Creative Commons (Burnham)