Sheffield-Green council coalition deal falls apart with Greens blaming national Labour leadership
Greens claim Labour reneged on a previous commitment, citing national party intervention
A power-sharing deal between the Labour and Green groups at Sheffield City Council has fallen apart, just days after it was announced.
Sheffield Greens issued a statement overnight saying that “Labour leader Fran Belbin is now reneging on her previous commitment to ensure a stable council for Sheffield”.
They say that Labour’s national executive committee has intervened.
Councillor Belbin today briefly denied that, saying the council Labour group voted for the position unanimously.
She and the Labour group have yet to make a full statement, however.
The two parties have been at loggerheads since Labour was angered by a motion passed at the Green Party conference in October. It equated Zionism with racism and called for one state in Palestine.
The Labour government ordered all its council groups in coalition to end those deals but last-minute talks took place between the two parties on the day of the full council meeting last Wednesday (November 4).
Labour said that the Green position was antisemitic. The Greens responded that conflating Zionism with Judaism is itself antisemitic and said they would continue to stand with the city’s Jewish residents.
The council remains under no overall control with Labour and the Greens as the first and third biggest parties.
Second-largest group the LibDems walked away from a three-way administration in May over their opposition to the loss of green belt land for development in the Sheffield Local Plan.
Coun Belbin announced at the November council meeting that initial talks indicated a way forward and details would emerge within days.
The Green statement today says: “Last week, Sheffield Labour group and Green group began constructive negotiations to continue the power-sharing arrangement in Sheffield.
“Talks conducted in good faith led to a joint statement agreed by both local parties, which was then pulled at the last minute by Labour bosses in London.
“The Sheffield Labour group then withdrew its motion to set up a minority administration and voted down a last-minute wrecking amendment by the Liberal Democrat group.
“Constructive talks then continued over the week and into the weekend.
“On Sunday, it became clear that the goalposts were being moved again, and on Monday, Coun Belbin produced a new version of the joint statement, written by the Labour Party’s NEC.
“This was very disappointing as the new statement did not reflect the constructive and thoughtful discussions between local groups. Despite this, the Green group agreed to continue working together on a form of words that would reflect shared principles.
“It is now clear that the national Labour Party vetoed the power-sharing arrangement.
“Sheffield Greens refuse to submit to national Labour and will continue to speak out against violations of human rights and international law and the complicity of the Labour government.
“We want to thank everyone in Sheffield who encourages reconciliation and cooperation in the spirit of our hard-won committee system, and everyone who has sent messages of support over the last few weeks.
“We also want to thank all those who voted Green at the last local election, when we won more votes in Sheffield than any other party.
“Sheffield Greens remain committed to cooperation and local democracy. Unfortunately, it seems that decisions for Sheffield Labour are made in London, and political games are prioritised over local needs.
“Sheffield deserves leadership with a backbone, not a permission slip from London.”