On Sunday evening, after the Green Party Conference in Brighton, I resigned my membership of the Green Party of England & Wales.
My primary reason for this is that I believe the leadership of the party under Zack Polanski, has failed in its responsibility to ensure a safe space for members.
![A message from the Green Party of England & Wales group, Greens For Palestine (G4P) whose motion, Zionism Is Racism, was passed by The Green Party today:
“It is enshrined in international law that Iran has the right to defend itself, as do the Palestinians and all oppressed or occupied people. We oppose the proscription of any organisation because proscription simply functions to limit the British public's right to freedom of speech, assembly and association.
Anti-Zionist beliefs are protected under the Equality Act 2010 and as was recently ruled in the Miller vs Bristol Uni case: '...are worthy of respect in a democratic society.'
The Employment Appeal Tribunal found that 'it is coherent to describe as "racist" an ideology [Zionism] that promotes the establishment of a state [in this case, Israel] for only one race of people [Jewish] in a territory that formerly contained a large number of people of a different race [Palestinians]. Such an ideology, which supports the migration of members of the first group into the territory with the support of an imperial power to dislodge an indigenous population, could also coherently be described as colonial and imperialistic'
The press should not dictate what we can or cannot say.
Hold the press accountable.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:przxzffhcjdcoz6lzq2m2fwb/bafkreigqzi3jrvfzvrfprzkcwt3h4q3ynbg74mvvtbfjrmfk7g2fxb7vr4)
![Statement by suspended Green Party member, Green Party Council member (as endorsed by Greens For Palestine, G4P), Eleanora Folan (aka Stats For Lefties)
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UPDATE ON MY SUSPENSION
9 days ago, the Green Party put out an unprecedented ‘statement’ regarding my suspension, violating their standard policy of never commenting on disciplinaries. This policy was also ignored when the party leaked my suspension to the Telegraph and Daily Mail.
I can now reveal that this ‘statement’ did not follow the standard review process. It was published by party staff without the consent of the wider press team.
I have tried to engage with the party to de-escalate this situation, such as working together on a joint statement to mend fences. Their response has been to insist that my suspension cannot even be reviewed until December. I therefore publicly request the following:
• Reinstate me as a member, and to the GPC seat that I was rightfully elected to by 800 members.
• An investigation into my suspension, the process, and the breaches of confidentiality by the party.
I remain keen to work with the Party to combat injustice. The panicked overreaction by unelected party staff to my election has shattered trust with trans communities. Like many trans people, I believe the Greens are our only hope for justice. But until the party corrects its mistake, that broken trust can never be repaired.Please don't take our last hope away.
Siobhan's notes:
• The unprecedented statement was uploaded to the Green Party website, but not listed. It was then made public possibly through a moderator on a Reddit sub first.
• The statement doesn't name a specific case directly.
• It is not publicly known who leaked to the press.
• It is not known why the suspension *cannot* be reviewed until December
• The process probably has a shorter timescale
• I see no evidence that The Green Party has affected my trust as a trans person](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:przxzffhcjdcoz6lzq2m2fwb/bafkreigbwvh275deaalk4gtmrihz2oh4lrxrn6jelareyuidwi2mldrjly)
