Labour set to end half of council power-sharing agreements with Greens over 'Zionism is racism' policy

Labour set to end half of council power-sharing agreements with Greens over 'Zionism is racism' policy Zack Polanski accused Andy Burnham of being 'more worried about defending genocide' than bin collections Sign up to the Politics Newsletter I agree to receive updates and information about my account, the GB News Community, and related products and services from GB News. Email address Sign up By signing up you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy and Community Rules.

Thank you for signing up! See the latest from GB News here . Choose GB News on Google - add us as a preferred source Choose GB News Support GB News Champion free speech and independent journalism while unlocking exclusive benefits. Support us Labour is set to end almost half of the party's power-sharing agreements with Green councils as the fallout over the "Zionism is Racism" policy rumbles on. Last month, all Labour council groups currently in coalition or other power-sharing arrangements with the Greens at council level were asked to write to the party and seek "reassurances" that they condemned the motion.

Local Labour politicians also urged their Green partners to call on the party’s national leaders to denounce it. Now, Labour is expected to push about half a dozen councils into no overall control or try to form coalitions with other parties after Andy Burnham said t he party would have "nothing to do" with the policy, The Telegraph reports. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say The Labour Party said the ultimatum would impact 17 councils across England and one in Wales.

Andy Burnham’s party suggested some local Green groups would have met the conditions, allowing further co-operation, while others would not. GB News understands Labour will reveal the status of all local arrangements later today, after completing all party processes. The Prime Minister has ruled out any coalition with the Green Party on a national level in future while the policy declaring Zionism a form of racism is in place. Zack Polanski's poll approval rating dipped to its lowest ever level | PA Among the coalitions expected to collapse is Sheffield City Council, where Labour’s ultimatum was accused of being "antisemitism" because it conflated Zionism with Judaism Meanwhile, Warwick District Council accused Mr Burnham’s party of trying to "undermine Green Party democracy".

Lewes District Council became the first authority to announce its partnership had broken down after Zoe Nicholson, the Green leader of the council, confirmed the alliance had ended because of "unnecessary pressures from outside of the council". A spokesman from the local Green group on the council in East Sussex issued a statement offering its "wholehearted support for the rights of Jewish and Palestinian people equally", but it did not address Labour’s two demands.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS ITV The Chase's Anne Hegerty blasts Green Party 'a***holes' over controversial 'Zionism is racism' motion Ex-Green Party leader issues 'hard-left takeover' warning as Zack Polanski faces pressure Labour threatens Greens with 'urgent' ultimatum after Zack Polanski commits to 'antisemitic' policy Andy Burnham came under fire from the Greens for the policy | PA Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said he would not try to overturn the policy, but did want to amend it “at the first available opportunity”.

He has faced both internal and external criticism of his leadership after members of the Green Party of England and Wales adopted the motion at last month’s party conference in Brighton, a vote Mr Polanski did not take part in. Former party co-leader Adrian Ramsay on Sunday said he was "deeply uncomfortable" with the motion and said the question now was how Mr Polanski and the party responded. The MP for Waveney Valley told the BBC: "I think there’s a real crossroads point for the party at the moment."

Former co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, issued a warning about Mr Polanski's direction | PA Last month, Mr Polanski refused to say how Green councils should respond to Mr Burnham's ultimatum. He then accused the Prime Minister of being "more worried about defending genocide" than about residents’ bin collections. A Green Party spokesman said: "For the Labour Government to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism is disappointing and wrong.

Trying to tell local parties what to do and who they can work with is undemocratic. "Whilst Labour continue to try to meddle in our internal democracy, arm a genocide and lock up protesting pensioners, we will not take lectures from them." Green Party members at the party conference voted 1,022 to 813 to adopt the redefinition on Sunday | PA The Board of Deputies of British Jews condemned the Green Party of England and Wales over the policy, passing a motion by 118 votes to one declaring that "by adopting an antisemitic platform, [it becomes] a racist party".

Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg said: "By adopting an antisemitic platform, the Green Party of England and Wales has become a racist party. We will treat it accordingly. "No political party has the right to tell Jews that a central part of our identity, rooted in thousands of years of history, faith and peoplehood, is racist. "The Green Party’s policy brands much of our community, including our synagogues and communal organisations, with that slur.

It gives prejudice against Jews a political licence. "The Green Party’s leadership must now take responsibility for reversing this policy and confronting the antisemitism it has legitimised." A Green spokesman insisted the party does not discriminate against people who hold Zionist views, adding: "The motion passed at our conference sets out political opposition to the ethnic cleansing and displacement of the Palestinian people." Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter Live Politics Andy Burnham opens door to slavery payouts as Commonwealth nations seek 'justice' Exclusive Politics 'So insulting!'

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