Labour ends power-sharing with Greens in 11 councils over Zionism row

The Labour Party has pulled out of power-sharing agreements with the Green Party in 11 local councils, after the national party adopted a policy defining Zionism as a form of racism.Labour councillors will now no longer be in coalition with the Greens in areas including Sheffield, Warwick and Lewes.Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson said: "Labour has been clear from the start that the "Zionism is Racism" policy crosses a line and we cannot work with any party that supports it – at any level of government."The Green Party has been contacted for a comment.In October, Green Party members backed a motion, entitled "Zionism is racism", which said Zionism was an ideology that supported an "ethnonationalist Jewish State in historic Palestine". It also backed a "single democratic Palestinian State", including in modern-day Israel.Having been backed by party members, the motion became Green Party policy, but it has left senior figures bitterly divided. Jewish groups and opposition political parties have condemned it.Prime Minister Andy Burnham told MPs in October that Labour would not partner with the Greens over the "antisemitic" policy.Labour then issued an ultimatum from Labour's head office to Labour-Green councils, demanding that local Greens disown the motion passed by members at their national party conference.Labour said there were local agreements in place in 18 authorities. Of those, Labour said 11 had not met the criteria they demanded.They include West Suffolk, Sheffield City Council, and Wealden District Council where Rachel Millward, the Green's deputy co-leader is a councillor.Green groups were also asked to call on their party's "national leadership" to reconsider the policy.Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said the motion was "imperfect" but has defended its central premise, arguing that Israel's actions towards the Palestinian people are "clearly underpinned by racist ideology". The collapse of co-operation at the local level could impact hundreds of thousands of residents through budgets and policy decisions taking longer to get voted through.