Ramsay Urges Polanski to Address Green Party Zionism Crisis

Growing divisions within the Green Party of England and Wales have prompted former co-leader Adrian Ramsay to urge current leader Zack Polanski to work with senior lawmakers to address the fallout from a controversial conference vote on Zionism. Ramsay, who represents Waveney Valley in Norfolk and Suffolk, said the party needed to respond urgently as resignations, defections and calls for Polanski to step down followed the decision.

According to the BBC, the motion passed at the party conference this week by 1,022 votes to 813. It declared Zionism racist and called for a single democratic Palestinian state across all of historic Palestine, replacing the party's previous support for a two-state solution.

Ramsay, who served as the party's co-leader from 2021 to 2025, said he would remain a member and work with colleagues to address the divisions. He declined to say whether Polanski should remain leader, noting that the leadership's response over the coming days and weeks would be important.

Ramsay said he intended to stay in the party and work with colleagues to address the situation, according to his interview with the BBC Politics East programme.

He said he hoped Polanski would cooperate with experienced party members to find a way forward, adding that the conference decision did not reflect his understanding of the views held by constituents and people across the region.

Ramsay also criticized Polanski's handling of the issue before and during the conference, saying the leader had not demonstrated the leadership he expected. He welcomed Polanski's subsequent public opposition to the motion, although he said the response came later than he would have preferred.

Polanski, who is Jewish, did not participate in the conference vote and later stated that he disagreed with the motion. He has pledged to remain leader, arguing that the party's broader movement is larger than a single policy decision. The vote has drawn criticism from some Jewish organizations, which described it as an attack on the Jewish community.

Ramsay opposed the motion and said he would continue to hold the Israeli government accountable for its actions in Gaza while supporting equal rights to statehood for Israelis and Palestinians. The party's change in position marks a departure from the two-state solution it had supported alongside most other UK political parties until the previous week.

During Ramsay's tenure as co-leader, the Greens won four seats in the 2024 general election and made substantial gains in local government across eastern England. In Suffolk, the party secured control of Mid Suffolk District Council in 2023.

Ramsay said conversations with constituents during the week suggested that local concerns remained their main priority. He said people in rural Norfolk and Suffolk wanted Green representatives focused on environmental protection, public services and issues affecting their communities.