Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey is facing calls to instruct his party to rule out local pacts with the Greens – a position he has so far refused to adopt, despite Zack Polanski’s party equating Zionism with racism.
On Monday evening, Davey said he wouldn’t enter into coalition with the Green at a national level.
In a letter to the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council he said: “I utterly condemn the policy, and I call on the Green Party to reverse it immediately.
“All politicians of every party should be working to stamp out antisemitism in our communities. Like all forms of racism, it has no place in our society. British Jews should feel safe on Britain’s streets, but too many are living in fear. This has always been so but there has been an especially sharp rise in antisemitism since the October 7 atrocities by Hamas terrorists in Israel three years ago.”
He continued: “I can therefore rule out our party entering into a national partnership with any party that is committed to a dangerous and antisemitic policy like the Green Party’s.”
However, when it came to local government, he was less emphatic.
Davey said: “Where our council groups entered into arrangements with Green Party councillors before this antisemitic motion was passed, we are asking their leaders to put a clear demand to those Green Party councillors: publicly reject this motion, and commit to campaigning for its reversal.”
His “unequivocal” commitment not to work with the Green Party nationally was welcomed by the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council, who added that they “await confirmation on the Party’s local council arrangements with the Green Party over the coming days.”
The Lib Dem leader’s announcement comes the week after the Labour Party issued guidance saying that where they have agreements to govern local authorities with the Green Party, they must ask their coalition partners to disavow the motion or Labour would withdraw from their local arrangements.
At Prime Minister’s questions last week, the Prime Minister called the “Zionism is racism” policy “antisemitic” and added that his party “cannot support a partnership with a party that holds a position that has recently been adopted.”
The Liberal Democrats had been under pressure to adopt similar measures after party leaders including Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage have objected to deals with Zack Polanski’s party in light of the motion.
Lord Walney, the government’s former independent adviser on political violence and disruption, praised Andy Burnham for showing “genuine leadership” for insisting that “Labour councillors follow through on his pledge not to work with the Greens after their embrace of antisemitism”, but said it was time for the Lib Dems to do the same.
“Now Sir Ed Davey must follow suit and insist Lib Dem councillors end all power-sharing agreements with the Green Party. Every time mainstream politicians offer empathy on anti-Jewish racism but fail to act against it, the sky gets a little darker for British Jews.”
He also criticised Davey’s announcement in a post on social media, saying it did not amount to leadership: “The Lib Dems don’t have any ‘national partnerships’ with the Greens – they have local partnerships. Sir Ed’s words sound strong but don’t change anything.”
Among the 22 local authorities where there is some form of partnership between Lib Dems and Greens are Birmingham and Newcastle and other councils including Southwark.
The London borough’s deputy leader Victor Chamberlain, said the Lib Dems had “condemned” the motion passed by the Green Party nationally and “received assurances that our Green colleagues locally were just as saddened by this policy”.
In a post on social media earlier this month, Southwark council leader James McAsh said that “neither I nor any member of the council’s Executive supported the national Green Party conference motion seeking to describe Zionism as racism”.
However, one of the areas local MPs has suggested that not all Southwark’s Green councillors object to the motion.
Neil Coyle, Labour MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, demanded that the Lib Dems take a more robust stance against the “Zionism is racism” motion.
He told the JC: “We expect hypocrisy from the Lib Dems and know they have a history of division here given their infamous homophobia”, in a reference to the infamous 1983 Bermondsey by-election in which leaflets described a “straight choice” between their candidate Simon Hughes and Labour’s openly gay candidate Peter Tatchell.
Coyle went to condemn Ed Davey for offering “zero leadership or authority on tackling hate”.
He continued: “His councillors are propping up an incompetent Green administration. They claim they received ‘reassurances’ from the Greens when at least one Green councillor here supported the vile antisemitic motion.”
There had been some internal demand for the Liberal Democrats to take a more robust stance since the Green Party’s adoption of the controversial motion earlier this month.
Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel warned the party to consider the “implications” of being in coalition with the Greens in the aftermath its adoption by Zack Polanski’s party
The Liberal Democrats have been contacted for comment.
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