The Labour coalition with the Greens in Sheffield has collapsed after damning posts by a councillor in Zack Polanski’s party were exposed by the JC.
Last night, Labour leader Fran Belbin said the partnership “must now come to an end”.
Earlier this week the JC revealed Sheffield Green councillor Mustafa Ahmed has said that Muslims who condemn the October 7 attack “bear the shame of supporting the Jews”.
Belbin said in a post on social media yesterday that she had tried to find a way to continue the local government partnership between the two parties.
The coalition had already been in question after the Green conference voted last month to brand Zionism as racism.
Labour leadership had instructed that Greens sharing power with them at a local level must denounce the policy for the partnership to continue.
The Green party today reacted to the end of the coalition claiming that it was “shameful” local councillors have been “bullied” into ending the agreement.
Belbin said: “Following the divisive Green Party motion, I have tried to find a way through which would enable the Labour Party and Green Party in Sheffield to continue our administration, and to ensure we put the best interests of local residents first.
“I have striven to find a consensus despite knowing how challenging this may be, and I entered these discussions in good faith.
“Last week, hours before full council, Sheffield Greens finally confirmed that they recognise that not all Zionists are racists; that all peoples have the right to self-determination; and they committed to undertake antisemitism training organised by the Council for all councillors.”
The Green group had refused to explicitly defy the motion.
Labour sources had suggested to the JC that, had Sheffield Labour failed to withdraw, they may have opened themselves up to disciplinary action.
Yesterday, Belbin claimed that the “Green Party has been unable to take the steps needed to give our city the certainty we need”.
Labour’s leader in Sheffield then continued to say that trust between the two parties was further eroded by their response to the JC’s revelations about incendiary comments by Sheffield Green councillor Mustafa Ahmed – a key backer of the “Zionism is racism” motion – that Muslims who condemned the October 7 Hamas attack “will bear the shame of supporting the Jews”.
A Green spokesperson told the JC that Ahmed’s post was deleted and that he “deeply regrets” it, but took no disciplinary action against him.
Belbin said: “Cllr Ahmed's views are incompatible with Sheffield Labour's central belief that Palestinians and Israelis should have the right to self-determination and that minority communities in Sheffield need to be able to live in safety and security. Any other party would have condemned his words and suspended him immediately.
“It is exactly the reason why the Labour Party – locally, regionally and nationally – object to the Zionism is Racism motion in the first place – because at the very least, it fans the flames of antisemitism and makes Jewish people in our city feel afraid.
“When unacceptable views are then not challenged clearly and decisively, it compounds that fear. “
She went on to say that despite “the very best efforts and intentions of the Sheffield Labour Party, it is clear that the joint administration with the Green Party in Sheffield must now come to an end” and called for the party locally and nationally to disavow the Zionism is racism motion.
Earlier yesterday, Oliver Coppard, the mayor of South Yorkshire, told the JC that there was “no way to maintain the coalition” between Labour and the local Greens to govern Sheffield unless they condemn their party’s “Zionism is racism” motion.
Coppard, who is Jewish, added: "In 2019, I refused to stand for parliament as a Labour candidate, at a time when the party had been infiltrated by antisemitism. I'm proud that Labour were able to rid themselves of the moral stain of antisemitism in the years since, but it never fully left British politics.”
Coppard – whose constituency covers Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley – then blasted the Greens’ “Zionism is racism” motion: "For the national Green Party to now say that unequivocally all Zionists are racists is not only deeply disappointing in that context, but deeply hurtful to the Jewish community.
“It is a slur on the vast majority of us in the British Jewish community who believe in a fair and lasting peace for the region, a two state solution, and self-determination for the people of the region.
"I've worked with many Green councillors in Sheffield. I don't think this is what even half of them really believe. But as long as the national and local Green parties refuse to condemn this motion, there is simply no way to maintain the coalition and restore the trust of our Jewish community here”, he continued.
He lambasted the Green Party in Sheffield for its response to the JC’s revelations.
Coppard said: “I'm appalled that a candidate for election in the 21st century could think, let alone write or condone, such things. The Green group locally need look again at their response, which has so far been wholly inadequate.”
He went on: "I want to see Sheffield governed well, with a stable council and good leadership, and Sheffield Labour are still going to take on that role. I'm genuinely saddened to see the Greens making the same mistake my Party once did. I can only hope that they will soon come back to their senses and prioritise the safety and respect of all communities."
A Green Party spokesperson said: "Andy Burnham has ridden roughshod over local democracy and collapsed Sheffield’s council partnership.
"It’s shameful that local councillors have been bullied into tearing up local agreements.
"The Labour government is arming a genocide and arresting pensioners for holding up paper signs; we will take no lectures from them.
“Sheffield Greens were prepared to put local people first and work together for the good of the city. This is a slap in the face to people in Sheffield who rely on a functioning council for bin collections and other essential services."
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