The government’s former adviser on political violence has warned that politics has “entered a dismal and dangerous era” after a wave of conspiracy theorists and radical anti-Zionists were elected to serve in local authorities last week.
They include new councillors such as Saiqa Ali, who won in Lambeth despite having shared a post claiming that Donald Trump is “owned by Jews” and another urging followers to “cut the head” off a snake bearing an Israeli flag.
Mark Adderley, husband of Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha, who suggested that Israel was to blame for the Bondi Beach terror attack, was elected in Croydon.
Both had stood as Green candidates but were suspended by the party before the election and will have to either sit as independent councillors or join a different group.
Hau-Yu Tam, a former Labour councillor who defected to the Greens, won in Lewisham despite having compared Zionism with Nazism and shared a post on social media saying the ideology was “pure evil”.
NHS worker Ifhat Shaheen, now a Green councillor in Stoke Newington, suggested Israel was harvesting organs “to help alter [the] DNA of Zionists to claim land, ancestry”.
Lord Walney, the government's former independent adviser on political violence, said: "The election of these candidates who have espoused repulsive views show that we have entered dismal and dangerous era of sectarian politics in Britain.
"Social cohesion is a buzz phrase at the moment – but any serious attempt to keep communities together must recognise and address the vile strain
of anti-Jewish hatred infecting parts of the so-called progressive left across the West.”
Russell Langer, director of public affairs at the Jewish Leadership Council, told the JC: “Local government will suffer with the election of many candidates on sectarian platforms focused on hatred of Israel. Several of these newly elected councillors have strayed well beyond criticism of the Israeli government into rhetoric, conspiracy theories and tropes widely recognised as antisemitic.
“When local elections become dominated by a conflict thousands of miles away and when candidates repeatedly single out Israel, it not only distracts from the local issues councillors should be focused on, but risks seriously damaging community cohesion and trust.”
Mainstream parties lost out heavily in the local elections, with Labour and the Conservatives shedding 1,498 and 563 councillors respectively. Reform UK gained 1,452 councillors and the Greens won 441 seats.
In Birmingham, 14 independent councillors were elected, of whom eight were claimed by George Galloway’s pro-Palestine Workers’ Party of Great Britain. Reform UK became largest group in the city followed by the Greens, leaving no party with overall control.
Across Britain, several of the new councillors with a history of extreme antizionist views serve in local authorities home to a substantial number of Jewish voters.
Saiqa Ali, 56, was elected as one of 29 Green Party councillors in the south London borough of Lambeth on May 7.
Ahead of the election she was exposed for having shared posts including the claim that Donald Trump is “owned by Jews” and a call to “cut the head of this snake” alongside an image showing Israel as a serpent throttling the globe.
Ali was arrested on suspicion of stirring racial hatred. She said: “I apologise for any offence or distress caused to anyone by my social media posts. That was not my intention.
“I unequivocally reject antisemitism in all its forms. My comments were rooted in concern for the humanitarian situation in the Middle East, and I remain committed to speaking with care, responsibility and respect for everyone.”
The Greens’ decision to withdraw their official endorsement of Ali came after the deadline for nominating candidates had closed, meaning she was still listed on the ballot paper as their candidate.
Mark Adderley, a Green candidate elected to represent Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood ward on Croydon council, was suspended by the party after he was exposed for suggesting that Israel was to blame for December’s Bondi Beach terror attack.
He also suggested some drones fired at Gulf states could be Israeli “false flag” attacks and blamed Benjamin Netanyahu for the Hatzola ambulance attack.
Despite being suspended from the party, the local Green Party continued to encourage local residents to vote for Adderley. Other controversial candidates received the support and endorsement of the party and its leadership.
Hau-Yu Tam, a former Labour councillor who defected to the Greens and became the group’s deputy leader on Lewisham council, won re-election despite controversial comments first reported by the JC last year.
She compared Zionism with Nazism and shared a post on social media saying the ideology was “pure evil” and should be “abolished”. She also praised the lawyer leading attempts to get Hamas de-proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK.
Another Green candidate in Lewisham, Rebecca Jones, shared a post depicting an Israeli flag in flames and the words “burn Zionism to the ground”.
Jones, who is a doctor, also said chants of “Death, death to the IDF” were “amazing” and described a reading of the last will and testament of Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, as “so beautiful”.
After reports about Jones emerged, she claimed to be the victim of “right wing… smear” because of her opposition to Zionism.
She topped the ballot in Blackheath Ward with 1,890 votes alongside another Green hopeful and a Labour candidate.
In the London borough of Hackney, home to a sizeable Charedi population, the Green Party took control of both the mayoralty and the council, which had been Labour-run for decades.
In her victory speech, Zoe Garbett, the directly elected Green mayor, made a reference to the “genocide” in Gaza – a topic which had featured throughout her party’s campaign.
However, some other candidates in the borough went much further in their language. Ifhat Shaheen, now a Green councillor in Stoke Newington – who works in the NHS and is a school governor – suggested Israel was harvesting organs “to help alter [the] DNA of Zionists to claim land, ancestry”.
Shortly after the arson attack in Golders Green in March, The Spectator reported that Shaheen had reposted a message on X saying: “Since Golders Green is now in the news, I want to take the opportunity to make people aware that the Jewish community in North London host IDF soldiers in their synagogues and raise funds for the IDF during a ‘family fun day’.”
Green candidate Laura-Louise Fairley, who won in Hackney Downs ward, had previously expressed support for now-proscribed group Palestine Action and anti-Israel musicians Kneecap and Bob Vylan, the later famous for chanting “death to the IDF” from the stage in Glastonbury.
Fairley also posted a photographed standing outside Hackney Town Hall draped in a Palestinian flag and keffiyeh, holding up a placard saying, “Hackney can vote for Palestine”.
Atikur Rahman, one of the successful Green Party candidates in Birmingham and former civil servant, was reported by the Daily Mail to have endorsed a social media post claiming that “Israel was attacking the UK by funding last summer’s riots and Tommy Robinson”, and to have reacted with a laughing emoji to a LinkedIn post commemorating dead Israelis.
The Mail also reported that he was being investigated by the Home Office over his conduct online. He told the publication: “I am horrified to learn that I might have selected the wrong reaction to a post. Any interactions I have on social media are not intended as endorsements or agreement.”
Chandi Chopra was elected as one of three Green Party councillors in Heaton Ward in Newcastle.
She posed for a photo on her now-private Instagram account wearing a T-shirt saying “we are all Palestine Action”, has previously compared the conflict in Gaza to the Holocaust and said she “proudly” chanted “Death to the IDF”.
In Tower Hamlets, Abul Monsur was one of 33 candidates elected for mayor Lutfur Rahman’s Aspire party.
However, he was suspended prior to the election over a series of offensive social media posts. These included one with an image of a “Zionist victim card”, which said that “any criticism of Israel is antisemitic and accusers are supporters of terrorism”.
Below that, there was a line which read “if in doubt, refer to the Holocaust”, but the word “Holocaust” had been crossed out and had “Holohoax” written above it.
Monsur said: “I am deeply sorry for these social media posts and ashamed of them.” He was still elected in Lansbury ward.
Jay Cooper, a Reform UK candidate elected to Sefton council, called the Holocaust a “hoax” and “propaganda” in reply to a comment on a post he had made mourning the death of the American conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
Shortly after the election result, party leader Nigel Farage told reporters Cooper was not welcome in Reform.
The party subsequently told the JC that Cooper had resigned the whip and would now sit as an independent. The party is also in the process of revoking his membership, they added.
The Greens said Ali and Adderley would not be readmitted. The party had not commented on the other councillors at the time of going to press.
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