Westminster council passes Zionism not racism motion amid protests

Cross-party unity at a flagship local authority collided with vocal public opposition as a London council passed a motion declaring that Zionism is not racism amid competing demonstrations outside the building on Wednesday, November 11, 2026.

Labour and Conservative councillors at Westminster City Council unanimously backed the resolution during a full council meeting at Marylebone Town Hall. The rare joint statement serves as a direct rebuke to the national Green Party, which adopted a policy at its October 2026 annual party conference defining Zionism as an ideology supporting an ethnonationalist Jewish state in historic Palestine to the exclusion or domination of non-Jewish populations.

Media additions

Outside the town hall, hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Wednesday night. Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters banged drums, waved Palestinian flags, and chanted slogans including long live the resistance as detailed in reporting from Yahoo News Canada and the London Evening Standard. Simultaneously, a counter-demonstration featuring Israeli flags and a banner branding the Green Party racist occupied the steps.

The Westminster motion stated that support for the Jewish people's right to self-determination is not racist. It further requested that town hall chief executive Stuart Love review equality, diversity, and community cohesion training to ensure policies do not treat Jewish residents' support for Jewish self-determination as a form of racism.

Cabinet Member for Children and Education Hannah Galley moved the proposal, telling the chamber that she had witnessed a growing climate of intolerance and intimidation directed toward Jewish people while representing the Abbey Road ward. At its heart, Zionism is the belief in the right of Jewish people to self-determination in their ancestral homeland, Cllr Galley said, adding that singling out Israel's right to self-determination as illegitimate is a warped argument. She also noted that Jewish residents are among the few who must worship behind security patrols following a sustained campaign of hostility since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.

Seconding the motion, Labour councillor David Boothroyd argued that under international law all peoples possess the right to self-determination, making the Green Party's policy discriminatory. However, Cllr Boothroyd also noted that Labour had unsuccessfully attempted to amend the draft text to advocate for a two-state solution and express concern over the denial of Palestinian self-determination.

Ahead of the vote, independent political consultant Gary Spedding filed a complaint warning of serious legal deficiencies and potential breaches of statutory duties regarding Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim residents, urging an equality impact assessment. Meanwhile, local Green figure Faaiz Hasan defended his party's stance, emphasizing that criticism of Zionism is distinct from Judaism and noting that Green leader Zack Polanski is Jewish.

National Fallout and Local Coalition Collapses

The local clash in Westminster forms part of a wider national political fracture triggered by the Green Party's conference vote. According to Aol, the Labour Party has withdrawn from power-sharing agreements with the Greens across 11 local authorities—including Sheffield, Warwick, and Lewes—after local groups failed to disown the national policy.

Green Party leaders have criticized the move, arguing that local governance should not be disrupted by national foreign policy disputes. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has also written to the Green Party to assess the practical implications of its conference statement, while senior figures such as former co-leader Adrian Ramsay and former MP Caroline Lucas have condemned the motion, diverging from current leader Zack Polanski.

Council / Authority	Action Taken	Context / Details
Westminster City Council	Passed cross-party motion	Unanimously adopted "Zionism is not racism" resolution on November 11, 2026, amid protests.
Sheffield City Council	Labour-Green coalition ended	Labour moved to minority administration after local Greens declined to meet national demands.
Warwick District Council	Coalition terminated	Local Greens refused to condemn conference policy, citing political intimidation.
Lewes District Council	Alliance ended mutually	Local Green party announced the end of the partnership following national directives.

What Happens Next

Following the Westminster vote, Council Leader Paul Swaddle stated he would write to absent members to record how they would have voted. Stuart Love is expected to initiate the requested review of local authority cohesion policies. Nationally, councils affected by the collapse of Labour-Green coalitions will attempt to govern as minority administrations or seek alternative partners as policy decisions face prolonged debates.