Sheffield Labour defies orders to break Green coalition over Zionism is racism motion

Sheffield Labour has defied orders from the national party to break its coalition with the Greens over the “Zionism is racism” motion. The Labour group has vowed to continue its power-sharing agreement despite Sheffield Greens failing to publicly renounce the notorious motion passed at Zack Polanski’s party conference last month. The decision – a U-turn from the Labour group’s previous position – sets up a potential rift with Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), which ordered 11 Labour council groups, including Sheffield, to end power-sharing deals unless local Greens disavowed the motion.

Sheffield Labour will now have to seek permission from the NEC to continue the power sharing agreement. The JC understands that Jewish leaders have made representations to Sheffield Labour about the volte face. After a council meeting on Wednesday evening, Labour council leader Fran Belbin said “there is now a basis on which Labour and the Greens can continue to work together in Sheffield.” Belbin said the local Labour group was “content that the Sheffield Greens have distanced themselves from the most divisive elements of their party conference motion which was causing such concern to our communities, most notably our Jewish residents.”

According to Belbin, Sheffield Greens have confirmed “Zionism is not inherently racist” and have stated “that they believe in self determination for all peoples”. But the Green group has not publicly disavowed the motion. The local group had previously accused Labour of “throwing away our joint working agreement because of top down demands from London”. Echoing the language of the motion, it also said: “We will continue to speak up for Palestinians and against Labour’s complicity in the genocide.”

Belbin, who had described the decision over the coalition as one that “has been the hardest since I became Leader of the Council” now says Sheffield Greens had “addressed some of the things we have been asking for”. She said a joint statement setting out how the two parties would continue governing Sheffield is expected "in coming days". The decision appears to fly in the face of a national Labour ultimatum issued from Andy Burnham after the Green Party passed the motion.

The Prime Minister told MPs in October that Labour would not partner with Polanski’s party over the "antisemitic" policy and a party order followed demanding that local Green groups disown the motion or lose their coalition deals with Labour groups. Supporters of the “Zionism is racism” motion have now claimed victory in Sheffield, with anti-Israel activist Ashok Kumar saying “Sheffield Labour capitulates. Greens didn’t give an inch.” Sheffield Labour, which relies on the Green Party’s 20 seats to bolsters its 25 in the 84-seat council, will now have to convince the NEC that its agreement with the Greens can continue.

Defra Secretary and former NEC member Dame Angela Eagle said on Thursday that the ruling executive has “made it quite clear to local Labour groups that in the aftermath of the motion on Zionism at Green Party conference that we cannot be in coalition with Green groups that don’t repudiate the awful implications of the motion that they passed. “What happens in Sheffield will be a matter for both the party chair and the NEC to decide and I hope that the Labour group in Sheffield will bear that in mind as they make their decision.”

Commenting on the announcement by Belbin, councillor Martin Smith, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, accused the Labour group’s “extraordinary U-turn” of being a “shameful abandonment of principle”. Smith said: "Just days ago, Labour were telling us that trust with the Greens was completely broken and that they could no longer work together. Now they've decided to carry on as if nothing happened."