A growing political firestorm has erupted across British politics after the Green Party of England and Wales formally adopted a controversial motion labeling Zionism as a form of racism, prompting sharp condemnation from Prime Minister Andy Burnham who has ruled out any national-level partnership between his Labour Party and the Greens while the policy remains in place.
The confrontation unfolded Wednesday during questioning in the UK Parliament, where Conservative Member of Parliament Harriett Baldwin pressed the prime minister to explicitly rule out any future cooperation with the Greens on national legislative matters. Burnham responded with unreserved condemnation of the policy, stating clearly: ‘It is wrong, it is antisemitic, and this side of the house will have nothing to do with it. We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds the position that has recently been adopted.’
The policy was approved earlier this month by rank-and-file Green Party members voting at the organization’s annual conference, making the Greens the first major UK political party to enshrine the classification of Zionism as racism in official party policy. Alongside the classification, the motion also formalized the party’s support for a single democratic Palestinian state with equal rights for all ethnic and religious groups, breaking from the long-standing international consensus backing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Under Green Party rules, members can drive official policy through conference votes, though senior party leaders have recently acknowledged the process requires structural reform. Critically, the new policy will not automatically be added to the party’s next general election manifesto.
International reaction to the vote was swift and forceful. The Israeli government immediately banned Green Party leader Zack Polanski — who is openly Jewish — from entering the country, formally accusing the party of spreading antisemitism. The United States also announced it would make formal diplomatic representations to the British government over the policy, stating it views the classification as a potential expression of antisemitic sentiment.
Domestically, cross-party condemnation has been widespread. More than a dozen sitting Labour MPs have gone as far as reporting the Green Party to UK police over the controversial policy. Tensions have also emerged within the Green Party itself, where internal divides over the motion have come into clear view.
Before the vote was held, Polanski had pushed for amendments to the text that would explicitly protect Jewish members within the party, arguing that opposition to Zionism should not target individual Jews who identify with the ideology. ‘If someone stands against the occupation, stands against apartheid, stands against the genocide, but happens to be a member of a synagogue that calls itself a Zionist synagogue, they should not be treated any differently within the Green Party,’ Polanski said. However, the proposed amendment was defeated by a vote of ordinary members.
Green Party co-deputy leader Mothin Ali indicated ahead of the vote that he did not oppose adding the extra safeguards, noting: ‘If Jewish members feel like they need an additional level of reassurance, then I think they’re right to ask for that. All members should feel safe in this party. Not that the motion should make them feel unsafe, but if they want an additional level of reassurance, I welcome that.’ Following the vote, Ali reaffirmed that the outcome of the member-led process must be respected, and defended the framing of the motion, telling Middle East Eye: ‘Zionism is an ethno-nationalist state. Zionism is resulting in ethnic cleansing, in the belief that one group of people is superior to another.’
Several sitting Green MPs have publicly broken ranks to criticize the motion, including Adrian Ramsay, Sian Berry and Ellie Chowns. At the same time, the motion has gained support from some high-profile figures, including prominent Holocaust survivor and activist Stephen Kapos, who endorsed the measure saying, ‘Zionism both as an ideology and practice is harmful and has no legitimacy and must be rejected.’
Complicating the current political standoff is the fact that the Labour Party already holds power in coalition with the Greens on multiple UK local councils. Downing Street has so far declined to confirm whether Burnham’s ban on cooperation will extend to these existing local-level partnerships, leaving the future of those local coalitions unclear.