MP says Polanski must 'work urgently' on Zionism crisis

A former leader of the Green Party has called on the present leader Zack Polanski to work with him and other senior MPs to "urgently address the situation" following the party's controversial vote on Zionism.

Adrian Ramsay, MP for Waveney Valley in Norfolk and Suffolk, told the BBC Politics East programme that Polanski "did not show the leadership I would have liked to have seen".

He refused to say if he should stay on as leader, but acknowledged "a lot depends on what happens in the days and weeks to come".

The Greens' conference passed a motion this week declaring that Zionism was racist and called for "single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine".

Ramsay, who was co-leader of the party from 2021 to 2025, was speaking at the end of a week that has seen resignations and defections and calls for Polanski to resign.

Ramsay admitted it had been a "difficult week" but said he would not be leaving the party.

"I am going to stay and work with colleagues to urgently address this situation," he said.

"I hope to see Zack working with those of us who have been in the party for a long time and are working together to try to find a way through this and turn the situation around because [the vote] does not reflect what I believe my constituents and people in this region believe."

The motion that declared Zionism to be racist was passed at the Green Party conference by 1,022 votes to 813.

It has been criticised by some Jewish groups, who called it "an attack on the Jewish community". Polanski, who is Jewish himself, has been banned from visiting Israel as a result.

Polanski did not take part in the vote and only later said that he did not agree with it. He has vowed to stay on as Green Party leader, arguing that "our movement is so much bigger than... one motion".

"Zack did not show the leadership I would have liked to have seen during our party conference and the run up to it," said Ramsay.

"I am pleased that he has now said, admittedly a lot later than I would have liked, that he is against the motion as it was passed."

Ramsay had opposed the motion and said that while he would continue to hold the Israeli government to account over its actions in Gaza, he would also continue to stand up for Israelis and Palestinians to have equal rights of statehood.

Until last week, the Greens, along with most other UK parties, supported the idea of a "two-state solution".

Under Ramsay's co-leadership the party won four seats at the 2024 general election and made major gains on councils across the east of England, particularly in Suffolk, where it won control of Mid Suffolk District Council in 2023.

Polanski's style of leadership is seen as being very different.

Ramsay said constituents he had spoken to this week were more keen on local issues than last week's vote.

He said people in rural Norfolk and Suffolk wanted Green politicians who were "rooted in their local community, focused on the environment, public services and the things that matter to us in our area".

Politics East is on BBC One on Sunday at 10:00 BST and afterwards on the BBC iPlayer.

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