The Labour Party leadership has caused uproar by banning its councillors from doing local deals with the Green Party.
The policy was revealed in a critical post on X by Gwen Grahl, the Labour deputy group leader on Brent Council, where the party has a minority administration, claiming that the ban had forced them to work with the Tories instead.
The row comes amid concerns over the views of some Green Party members after its candidate for the Makerfield by-election, Chris Kennedy, was withdrawn over social media posts suggesting that an attack on Jewish ambulances in north London a “false flag”.
A bitter local election campaign also saw Labour highlight antisemitism among Green candidates.
At one point Sir Keir Starmer claimed that Green leader Zack Polanski was “a disgrace” and “unfit to lead a political party” after sharing a post critical of the way the police tackled the alleged Golders Green attacker.
Mr Polanski has said he wants the Greens “to replace the Labour Party” as the main party of the left in British politics and previously said he would not work with Labour on a national level while Sir Keir is leader.
But the Green Party has hit out at the ban on local council deals claiming that the Labour leadership is “punishing voters.”
In her letter published on X, Cllr Grahl pointed out that Labour fell three seats short of an overall majority in Brent but she was “pleased” that it had managed to form a minority administration.
She went on: “This was made far more difficult by a ruling from Labour’s NEC banning us from entering with a formal or informal agreement with the Green Party.”
She added that the decision by the Lib Dems to refuse to work with Labour then “forced us to recognise the Conservative group as the official opposition and allow them non-executive positions on the scrutiny committee, in order to form an administration”.
Cllr Grahl noted: “Those who voted Green in Brent were often former Labour voters who wanted to see stronger action on inequality, housing, public services and injustice. Refusing to even engage with the Greens risks reinforcing the perception that Labour is unwilling to work constructively with parts of the progressive electorate we urgently need to win back.”
A Green Party source said: “Labour has decided to punish the voters with a central ban on Labour councillors working together with the Greens for the good of their communities and to work with the Tories instead. Labour has learnt nothing.”
Brent Green group leader Mary Mitchell, said: “Labour has chosen to cling to power through a deal with the Conservatives.
“It didn’t have to be like this. The Green Party was ready to come to the table, do the hard work of negotiation and collaboration, and build a formal arrangement that included the need for new leadership. Instead, Labour has chosen to ignore the progressive values of its supporters and have prioritised protecting party power.”
A Labour source suggested that local deals with the Greens would be looked at “on a case by case basis”.
The Independent has approached the Labour Party for comment.
