Middle East Eye, on UK Politics, 2 November 2026

3.0out of 10Minor

UK: Labour to stop cooperating with Greens in 11 councils over 'Zionism is racism' vote

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Britain 's governing Labour Party has decided to stop cooperating with the Green Party in 11 councils across England over the Greens adopting a policy that "Zionism is racism" last month. Bridget Phillipson, the Labour chair, said the Green motion on Zionism "crosses a line and we cannot work with any party that supports it - at any level of government". Prime Minister Andy Burnham denounced the motion as "antisemitic" last month. The Green Party said it would "not take lectures" from a government that supplies weapons to Israel.

According to Labour, . Six Green council groups, in Broadland, Monmouthshire, North Somerset, Rother, West Oxfordshire and West Sussex, have condemned the motion. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Phillipson said: "Any local power-sharing arrangement cannot come at the expense of upholding the moral obligation we have to stand up for everyone in our communities and the values we share.

"We are pleased that some local Green parties have rightly opted to disavow this policy and have called on their party’s leadership to do the same. It is disappointing that some local Green parties have not met the conditions Labour has set out. "Labour continues to oppose this divisive policy and calls on the Green party to do the right thing and rescind it." The Greens responded in a statement, saying: "Across the country, Green, Labour, independent and Liberal Democrat councillors have worked together to provide stable local government, protect services and deliver positive change.

Israel bans Zack Polanski after Green Party backs 'Zionism is racism' motion Read More » "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 judgments of their own local leaders, failed to respect the choices made by local voters, and are disrupting successful partnerships." Through a vote of party activists at the Green Party's annual conference in October, the Greens became the first major party in the UK to recognise Zionism as a form of racism - and to back a single democratic Palestinian state with equal rights for all ethnic and religious groups, rather than a two-state solution.

Green leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, said on Monday afternoon that Labour's decision to end power sharing with the Greens in local authorities would "backfire" on the party. "The Green Party want to tax billionaires, tackle the climate crisis and stop arming a genocide," Polanski said. "Labour want to interrupt your local services & impose genocide support from its local councils. "Andy Burnham revealing himself and his project...."

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What we found (1)

Middle East Eye reports Labour's decision to end cooperation with the Greens in 11 councils, attributes each claim to the person who made it, and gives the Greens and Zack Polanski a full reply. It prints the motion's single-state clause with its equal rights wording, which most reports of the vote cut. The only fault is minor: the article says 11 councils but lists 10 and never names Runnymede.

  1. Uses figures that mislead

    Minor

    “cooperation with the Greens will stop on Arun, Derbyshire Dales, Havant, Lewes, Sheffield, Stafford, Warwick, Wealden, West Devon and West Suffolk councils”

    Why this matters
    The article lists ten councils after telling the reader in the headline and first sentence that Labour is ending cooperation in 11.
    The impression it gives
    A reader counting the list finds only ten councils and cannot tell where the eleventh is, or whether the figure of 11 is wrong.
    The context
    The eleventh is Runnymede, where Labour said cooperation had already stopped because of the motion. The Guardian and the Mirror both name it.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

What it gets right

  • “back a single democratic Palestinian state with equal rights for all ethnic and religious groups”

    It prints the motion's equal rights wording. Most reports of the vote cut the clause before those words.

  • “The Green Party said it would "not take lectures" from a government that supplies weapons to Israel.”

    It gives the Greens' reply right after Labour's charge, so Labour's accusation does not stand alone.

  • “"The Green Party want to tax billionaires, tackle the climate crisis and stop arming a genocide," Polanski said.”

    It quotes the Green leader's own words in full, including his reference to the genocide in Gaza, and does not cut them.

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