r/ukpolitics • u/ITMidget • 11h ago
Twitter Noa Hoffman:”BREAKING: Bridget Phillipson responds on behalf of Labour to the racist and antisemitic motion today. It’s strong and she doesn’t mince her words to be fair. Bridget Phillipson MP, Chair of the Labour Party, and Minister for Women and Equalities, responds to the Green Party’s vote on…”
https://x.com/hoffman_noa/status/2106798175185174700BREAKING: Bridget Phillipson responds on behalf of Labour to the racist and antisemitic motion today. It’s strong and she doesn’t mince her words to be fair.
Bridget Phillipson MP, Chair of the Labour Party, and Minister for Women and Equalities, responds to the Green Party’s vote on Zionism at the Green Party Conference, said:
“It is shameful to vote against a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine and to condemn the vast majority of British Jews and Jews around the world as racist for supporting Israel’s right to exist. It is fundamentally wrong and the leadership of the Green Party must make clear that this will not be their position moving forwards.
“The Labour Party has always been clear that criticism of the policies of the Israeli Government is not antisemitic, and the Labour government has condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank. But today’s vote at the Green Party Conference crosses a line and should be condemned across the political spectrum.
“This vote underlines how important it was that we changed the Labour Party from top to bottom and ripped out the scourge of antisemitism from within the party.
"The Labour Party and the Labour Government will continue working every day to ensure our Jewish communities are safe, feel safe and have their rights upheld, as well as making sure we rid our society of antisemitism once and for all.”
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u/Floppal 10h ago edited 9h ago
I consider myself pretty sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and abhor the actions of Israel and the settler movement.
But a call for the destruction of Israel and re-establishment of the historic borders of Palestine is both so extreme and ludicrous I'm not sure it's even useful for the Palestinians.
Edit: 4/5 MPs oppose it and Polanski's amendments failed. If I was one of those MPs I would sound out the others and as a bloc all agree to sit as an independent, while still following the 2024 Green manifesto, until whatever steps are needed to re-amend or nullify the motion are taken.
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u/Magneto88 8h ago
Doesn't really matter when the newest MP actively courted the people who believe in this stuff to win her by-election.
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u/royalbluestuey 10h ago
The Green front-bench need to now be held to account for this. How does this performative nonsense sit alongside the party's commitment to the two-state solution.
The policy seems to be an announcement that they are committed to ending Israel's existence. They need to explain how they implement this and where they want the citizens of Israel to end up.
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u/Deadliftdeadlife 10h ago
They’re a party that’s extremely pro immigration, almost fully open boarder style
But I’d guarantee that if the citizens of Isreal did need safe refuge, the Green Party would want those boarders closed for them
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u/coatimundos 10h ago
It’s quite clear what the answer to that is. That party should be investigated for extremism and proscribed as a nazi-esque party
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u/royalbluestuey 10h ago
The policy goes against the UN.
Is it a crime against humanity in itself?
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u/Ok_Bullfrog_8491 10h ago
No. For a comprehensive list of crimes against humanity, have a look at Article 7 of the Rome Statute.
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u/Tetratheon 10h ago
No. Saying objectionable things isn't a crime against humanity. They're cranks but get a grip.
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u/royalbluestuey 10h ago
They are a mainstream party who've just casually adopted a policy to wipe Israel off the map. The policy is that if you endorse the existence of the state of Israel you are branded a racist.
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u/JabInTheButt 8h ago
It almost definitely breaches EHRC guidelines but it's not a "crime against humanity". That's a very high bar, quite rightly (as in you actually have to do some killing or eugenics or something which the Greens haven't quite gotten to).
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u/sanaelatcis 9h ago
The “green front bench” largely voted against this motion - I.e the MP’s, Polanski himself, Caroline Lucas. It was largely the members that voted in favour
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u/royalbluestuey 9h ago
It is mow their party's policy. They either endorse or defend it or they stand down. It's that simple.
Collective responsibility.
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u/WinHour4300 9h ago
Irrelevant. According to their constitution:
"The Leader and Deputy or Co-Leaders will be the primary public faces of the party, responsible for presenting Green Party policy and promoting its electoral activity and campaigns to the public on a daily basis. "
"The Leader and Deputy Leader(s) in exercising their duties will at all times abide by Party policy, the PSS and Philosophical Basis."
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u/Shadowblade83 10h ago
That was a very clear stand, how good of Labour to do so. They are actually trying to be fair and just.
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u/VexedAndVomitHexed 10h ago
Which party are people that feel strongly about environmentalism, but aren't hyper obsessed with Israel and trans issues, supposed to vote for now?
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u/tradandtea123 10h ago
I'm not really convinced the Greens have much appetite for environmentalism anymore other than just saying we shouldn't build anything.
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u/VexedAndVomitHexed 10h ago
It's a real shame. Caroline Lucas was so much better than this.
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u/CyclopsRock 9h ago
She wasn't overtly antisemitic, but she absolutely loved a good dose of anti-capitalism-whoops-I-mean-environmentalism.
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u/TeeFitts 8h ago
Caroline Lucas was so much better than this.
Not really. She got herself a nice cushy safe seat, but was otherwise happy to be in permanent opposition. She never led the party to any great success, election-wise. She just seemed content to be the only Green MP at a time when the Greens were basically the party for countryside Tories who didn't want anything unsightly built in their nearby villages.
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u/Phoenix_Kerman 7h ago
i mean if you ever cared about environmentalism the greens were a terrible party to vote for. anti nuclear, 15 years in opposition of hs2, mps opposing pylons to offshore wind in their constituencys
they're nimbys that propped up the fossil fuel industry through their anti science nuclear lies
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u/Tetratheon 10h ago
Labour. The problem with the Greens is they won the argument, Labour are committed to net zero to the extent that the country will bear it. They were left seeking a purpose and they've found one.
It's a similar story with the gay rights groups. They won a victory above and beyond what anyone would have thought possible, they had to find other things to fight for.
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u/VexedAndVomitHexed 10h ago
I have been warming to Burnham, to be fair. Not sure about the new oil and gas drilling, though.
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u/TheColourOfHeartache 8h ago
If nuclear, solar and wind work the new oil and gas won't have enough customers to make a problem.
If nuclear, solar and wind don't work we'll be glad we have a plan B.
(And they're working. Solar construction is going crazy globally)
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u/JabInTheButt 8h ago
It says a lot about the Greens that even with the north sea licenses going ahead Labour are still the party that most care about the environment
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u/Anderrrrr 8h ago edited 7h ago
As long as the oil drilling money gets redistributed towards considerably lowering our gas/energy bills and gathers more funding towards further renewables development (wind & solar and even nuclear) and much need needed maximum infrastructure modernization and expansion projects towards our electricity grid.
But this is the only time where oil drilling will be justified, it can only be for the following reasons above.
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u/Still-Butterscotch33 10h ago
It would be nice if there was a semi serious central environmental party.
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u/archerninjawarrior 10h ago
Thank god Labour has purged itself of Corbyn's influence and can unapologetically stand up to antisemitism again.
So when will the Greens be getting prosecuted for discriminating against Jewish people and their religious freedom?
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u/creamyjoshy Proportional Representation 🗳 Social Democrat ⚖️ 10h ago
To be fair, the Greens now think Corbyn is racist because he supports a two state solution
The revolution devours her children
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u/archerninjawarrior 10h ago
Yep they've fully turned on him too.
I was really surprised however to see Corbyn squirming and refusing to call himself an anti-zionist when some activists were demanding that he say the magic words. I thought he'd be proud to wear that label..?
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u/BaritBrit I don't even know any more 7h ago
Having kept the company he has on this for so long, Corbyn probably has a fairly decent idea of what an "anti-Zionist" situation would actually mean in practice for the Israeli population (especially the Jews there). That might be a line that he genuinely isn't prepared to cross.
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u/creamyjoshy Proportional Representation 🗳 Social Democrat ⚖️ 10h ago
Well I kind of get it. even though I support a two state solution I wouldn't choose to wear the label myself either. It's like calling yourself a "gamer". It may be descriptive true but it comes with a whole bunch of semantic implications and identification with people who misuse the label to mean a very broad spectrum of things so as to render the word meaningless
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u/archerninjawarrior 9h ago
Sure, I just didn't expect a modicum of intelligence from Corbyn to see that. It's kind of strange to be intelligent enough to dance that line while spending your entire life surrounding yourself with fanatics who won't.
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u/FudgeAtron 10h ago
So when will the Greens be getting prosecuted for discriminating against Jewish people and their religious freedom?
Tbf in the Guardian there was a lawyer who said that some Green Party members were looking to challenge the motion in court arguing that it violated the 2010 Equality Act and that technically Zionism is a protected belief for Jews
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u/TEL-CFC_lad His Majesty's Keyboard Regiment (-6.72, -2.62) 10h ago
That was actually more emphatic than I was expecting, so fair play to her.
I suspect the Greens are about to haemorrhage their Jewish followers (much to the glee of their hardline Islamic followers), and Labour is looking ready to provide a safe home.
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u/archerninjawarrior 10h ago
It's almost like every time Jews are forced to flee is another justification of zionism.
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u/TEL-CFC_lad His Majesty's Keyboard Regiment (-6.72, -2.62) 10h ago
Maybe they should just be given their own country, where they can be safe, I dunno?
And if so, maybe we should criticise other countries that try gang up and try to genocide this country?
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u/No_Echo2745 10h ago
She did get £60k from the pro-Israel lobby, I suppose it's got to buy you something.
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u/royalbluestuey 10h ago
Borrrrrrrrrrrring
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u/TEL-CFC_lad His Majesty's Keyboard Regiment (-6.72, -2.62) 10h ago edited 9h ago
Funnily enough, I doubt this will be appreciated or recognised by the pro-Palestinians...which is weird.
Edit: typo
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u/TEL-CFC_lad His Majesty's Keyboard Regiment (-6.72, -2.62) 10h ago
Agreed, anyone sane would criticise this insanity for free!
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u/Optimaldeath 10h ago
For the sake of argument, are Gvir and Smotrich right about Palestinians?
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u/cubedplusseven 4h ago
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich aren't right about anything. But what's that got to do with this discussion?
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u/Nostalgic_Liberal 8h ago
Anti-Zionism implicitly calls for the genocide of every Jew in the Middle East. It’s an absolutely abhorrent political position.
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u/Hieroglo 8h ago
Conflating Zionists with Jews is antisemitic. Zionism is a specific ideology not to be confused with Judaism. That you would casually conflate the two reveals the dishonesty of your statement.
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u/Nostalgic_Liberal 8h ago
No, being Zionist is being in favour of the existence of of a Jewish state in the middle East, ie. the continued existence of the state of Israel. Given the existence of the state of Israel is all that is stopping the various surrounding Islamists from genociding every Jew living in Israel, as they have pledged repeatedly to do, calling for the abolition of the state of Israel is a call for Jewish genocide, and is implicitly anti-semitic.
The only person being dishonest here is yourself, by pretending calling for the abolition of the state of Israel is anything other than a call for genocide.
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u/Hieroglo 8h ago
Where did I call for the abolition of the state of Israel?
I call for the end to genocide in Gaza, the end to ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories and the end to apartheid in Israel.
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u/Godkun007 7h ago
If you think the state of Israel or any Jewish state should exist in the region, that means you are a Zionist. This vote was a rejection of the Jewish right to self determination in its entirety.
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u/Nostalgic_Liberal 7h ago
Every time you have defended anti-Zionism.
I call for the end to genocide in Gaza, the end to ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories and the end to apartheid in Israel.
Pity you, like so many others, are incapable of doing this without calling for a second holocaust.
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u/allthefallens Proud resident of burgerland 10h ago
>“It is shameful to vote against a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine
I wonder if someone else also did that.
To not recognize the reality at the ground is to ignore a problem.
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u/InfoBot2000 Beep. 10h ago
This is such a ridiculous open goal for Labour after the Corbyn years.
Adam Langleben, who coordinated complaints from the Jewish Labour Movement to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: “This is without doubt the most antisemitic and racist motion brought before a mainstream political party in my lifetime. It is Corbynism on steroids, and would seem even more open to legal challenge.”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/04/green-party-votes-adopt-policy-zionism-racism
Indeed.
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u/AggressiveGanache503 8h ago
someone might recall annihilating israel includes 3 million arabs and hundred thousand christians and the obscene greens wouldnt. dare call NOW for a democratic palestine ( which theyve "recognized " like so many others in unnamed borders) ! as that wd mean dismantling the fascist dictatorship of hamas in gaza for a stsrt. white colonialists in brighton have no problem with "palestine's" current anything-but-democratic misogynist homophobic thugs.
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u/theonewhowillbe demsoc 10h ago
Bridget Phillipson was also previously listed as a supporter of Labour Friends of Israel, so, uh, she might not be unbiased here.
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u/royalbluestuey 10h ago
If you met a member of Labour Friends of Afghanistan would you automatically presume they supported the Taliban? If you met a member of Labour Friends of Palestine do you presume they support Hamas?
Likud ≠ Israel
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u/No_Echo2745 10h ago edited 9h ago
It's racist to say zionism is racist? Not sure I agree.
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u/archerninjawarrior 10h ago edited 10h ago
Jews can now be kicked out of the Green party for not attending approved Synagogues, and most Synagogues are not approved. They can also be kicked out of the Green party for chanting religious songs that are not approved by the party. They specifically voted down an amendment that would have protected these Jewish religious freedoms.
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u/SuperTed321 9h ago
Citation please. Sounds ridiculously wrong and immoral if true.
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u/archerninjawarrior 9h ago
I've provided the sources here. See the reply by u/ObviouslyTriggered when it comes to the songs.
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u/No_Echo2745 10h ago
The Equalities Act applies to political parties. They absolutely cannot be kicked out for that.
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u/archerninjawarrior 10h ago
They voted down Polanski's amendment "to mitigate the possibility that this motion could be used to achieve indirect discrimination against practising Jews".
The amendment stated in full:
This motion shall not be used to pressure, proscribe or discipline members based on affiliation with Jewish community institutions, such as synagogues, community centres or denominational groups, that describe themselves as Zionist or used to discipline or sanction Jewish members for expressing views that would be non sanctionable if expressed by non Jewish members such as (such as support for a binational state, or two state solution).
Therefore, Jewish Greens are explicitly on notice that they must only attend party-approved Synagogues to retain their party membership. And most Synagogues are not approved. This is direct religious discrimination.
The amendment is A3 and downloadable here
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u/No_Echo2745 10h ago
So the entire party is either open to ruinous legal action, or the amendment was superfluous. Win win.
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u/archerninjawarrior 9h ago
I get being open to all possibilities but I doubt a room of people chanting "Palestine is Arab" voted down an amendment to protect Jews from indirect discrimination because they thought it was superfluous.
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u/JabInTheButt 8h ago
It's very very clearly the first one. It's not the entire party though, just the "Gaza Party" entryists who have now taken control.
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u/Velociraptor_1906 Liberal Democrat 10h ago
The full motion goes well beyond that.
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u/SuperTed321 10h ago
Genuine question. Can you summarise how it goes beyond that?
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u/Velociraptor_1906 Liberal Democrat 10h ago
Above all, it's totally naive.
A single state solution as suggested by the motion is not currently viable as there are extremists on both sides who want the other side rid of and even moderates are quite (reasonably) skeptical because of those extremists. There was once a time when a single secular, multi ethnic state might have been achieved but we moved from that path a long time ago and reviving that is only something that could come organically from within Israel and Palestine together.
I do think the international approach should be strong pressure on Israel to end the denial of Palestinian rights, strategic difficulty is not a justification for permanent deprivation of a people's human rights. The above reasoning leaves a two state solution, which will include a Jewish majority Israel, as the best option for that.
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u/SuperTed321 10h ago
Sorry but that’s not what was claimed in your message.
For clarity im not here to give an opinion on what you said in your response im genuinely asking how the motion goes “well beyond that”.
Can you explain what the motion contains to go well beyond that?
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u/Floppal 10h ago
(Not OP) From the motion:
the Green Party supports the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital
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u/SuperTed321 9h ago
Hi, thank you. Yes I can see how if this is in the motion it goes beyond merely stating that ‘Zionism is racism’.
I appreciate your response.
Have a good evening.
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u/Velociraptor_1906 Liberal Democrat 10h ago
The motion goes well beyond just saying zionism is racism, don't see how my above response dosent set out one of the ways it does that.
I think as a species we can and should move on from nationalism in all it's forms, however that isn't where we are now (and I doubt we'll get there on a global scale anytime soon) and pragmatism means that focusing on self determination is the right approach and given the present demographics of the former British mandate that involves a two state solution with a Jewish majority in Israel and the motion would have that denied to those Jews.
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u/SuperTed321 9h ago
Sorry Again you are deflecting and not answering the question about the specific motion. There’s absolutely a conversation on how we progress as a species and I hope the world gets better than the division and hate that has been typical of recent years.
Based on your responses I take it that you can’t comment on the motion itself.
Have a good evening.
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u/TheBestIsaac 10h ago
I don't think you understand what Zionism is.
Zionism includes a two state solution. Even returning to a 1948 state is still Zionism. Only the more extreme right wing Zionists want to take over the whole area.
Many Jewish groups decry the violence being commited on Palestinians but still support a two state solution. Anyone who associates with those groups are now banned from the Green party in England and Wales.
In fact it's worse than that, there are now only proscribed Jewish groups that are allowed to be associated with. Green listed ones, you could say. All other Jewish groups are considered Zionist.
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u/No_Echo2745 9h ago
Zionism is the desire for a Jewish state. You can have all different flavours of that.
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u/allthefallens Proud resident of burgerland 10h ago
Who cares if it's racist or not? Green party thinks racism is clearly the worst sin someone can commit and zionism is racism.
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u/ProudonFromHeight 10h ago
Labour adopted some nonsense definition by some nonsense body, and tbh it probably is 'antisemetic' under that definition.
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