Green councillor calls national Labour ‘very arrogant’ over Stafford coalition split

A Green councillor has criticised the national Labour Party as “very arrogant” over its decision to end a coalition at Stafford Borough Council.

Labour’s National Executive Committee announced on Monday 2 November that the party would cease cooperating with the Greens at 11 councils, including Stafford, due to the Green Party’s controversial ‘Zionism is racism’ policy.

Labour, the Greens and the Stafford Borough Independents have been running the borough council in coalition since 2023.

Councillor Tony Pearce, the only Green on the cabinet, criticised the national Labour Party for interfering in local matters, which he believes will cause problems for the council and Stafford residents.

Green Party members voted to declare Zionism to be a form of racism at their annual conference last month.

Labour leaders described the motion as antisemitic and said they would end power-sharing agreements with the Greens at councils if local members did not reject the policy.

It is understood that Stafford Borough Council leader Aidan Godfrey wrote to the Green group on Tuesday 3 November to say Labour would be ending the coalition arrangement.

Cllr Pearce holds the portfolio for climate action and nature recovery but expects to be removed from the position soon.

He said

“I think it was very arrogant of the Labour Party to totally ignore the needs of local authorities and instruct their councillors like this. They’ve totally ignored the local circumstances in each area. This decision will mean that Labour will no longer have a majority on the borough council, which creates uncertainty and problems for officers.

“We’ve been working quite well with Labour at the borough council. We haven’t agreed with everything the Labour government has done, particularly the decision to take planning decisions away from councillors. But we’ve continued to work with Labour in the interests of the local community.”

Without the five Green councillors, Labour and the Stafford Borough Independents would hold 19 of the 40 seats on the borough council, two short of an overall majority. The council will hold an all-out election in May 2027.

The ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion, which was passed by a vote of 1,022 to 813 at the Green Party of England and Wales conference, declared Zionism to be ‘fundamentally incompatible with anti-racist principles’. Party members voted to formally establish the Greens as an anti-Zionist party.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the motion as antisemitic and said he would not support Labour forming a partnership with the Greens. Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson said the policy “crosses a line”.

But Cllr Pearce said he generally supports the policy, and rejected the allegation that it amounts to antisemitism.

He added

“I didn’t attend the conference. I may have had some issues with the wording of the policy, but the thrust of what was decided is something I fully support. By definition it is not antisemitism. Zionism is not the same as Judaism. It is a political philosophy.”

In a statement issued on his behalf by the Labour Party, Cllr Godfrey said

“We are disappointed that Stafford Green Party has been unable to meet the conditions the Labour Party has set out since the Green Party adopted the ‘Zionism is Racism’ policy. We therefore cannot continue to work with the Green Party on Stafford Borough Council.

“Stafford Borough Council Labour Group will continue working hard every day to stand up for local residents and will always act in the best interests of our communities. And I would hope the priority of every councillor on the borough council would be to serve the interest of everyone in their community.”

It is understood that Labour will continue to lead the borough council as a minority administration.