Labour councils who share power with the Greens have been told to terminate agreements if their Green partners do not condemn the party\u2019s new \u201cZionism is racism\u201d policy.<\/p>\n
Bridget Phillipson, the Labour chair, said groups working with Green party politicians must review their agreements and end them unless they reject the controversial motion, which Andy Burnham has called \u201cantisemitic\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n The policy, which was adopted at the Green party conference<\/a> in Brighton at the start of the month, equates Zionism, the movement for a Jewish state, with racism. It also rejects a two-state solution and calls for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state \u201cwith equal rights for all\u201d.<\/p>\n The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said on Thursday it had written to the Green party<\/a> of England and Wales to seek more information about the motion \u201cand assess its practical implications and potential impact\u201d.<\/p>\n Several individuals and groups had said they planned to contact the watchdog to argue that the new policy risked breaching equality laws.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Burnham ruled out Labour having a partnership with the Greens. Asked about the motion during prime minister\u2019s questions, Burnham said: \u201cIt is wrong. It is antisemitic, and this side of the house will have nothing to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Burnham went on to state that Labour would not \u201csupport a partnership with a party that holds [the] position that has recently been adopted\u201d.<\/p>\n Giving further details of Labour\u2019s response to the motion, Phillipson said Greens who were working with Labour in local government would be asked \u201cto make clear that they reject this position and to call on their national leadership to reconsider\u201d the policy.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cWe have asked local Green groups to respond as a matter of urgency. Where they are unable to provide that assurance, Labour will bring any such local arrangement to an end. This isn\u2019t an issue of party politics, it\u2019s about doing what is right and upholding the values anyone holding public office should share.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Labour party fought hard to address antisemitism within our own party and ensure it had no place in our politics. We have a responsibility to uphold those same standards in our relationships with other parties.\u201d<\/p>\n Responding to the announcement, a Green party spokesperson said: \u201cFor 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWhilst 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The Guardian understands that local Green party councillors are unlikely to face disciplinary measures if they do condemn the motion, as the party has a highly decentralised structure and no whipping system. Several MPs and the former leader Caroline Lucas<\/a> have already stated their opposition, and dissent about policy is tolerated. Southwark Greens have already disowned the policy to maintain a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.<\/p>\n The binding anti-Zionism policy motion was passed on 4 October by 1,022 votes to 813. The 1,022 votes represented 0.4% of the Green party membership. Four of the Greens\u2019 five MPs<\/a> opposed the policy, while the group representing European Green parties expressed dismay<\/a> at the move, which runs counter to their support for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.<\/p>\n