As more and more long-serving stalwart members suffer removal from the Party, what are the Leadership doing ?
In the wake of the party’s defeat in the civil court action brought by former Deputy Leader, Shahrar Ali, they issued a statement saying “We need a party in which members respect one another’s differences” and “Greens have consistently upheld the right to freedom of thought and freedom of expression”. But this is not what is being presided over by the present Leadership Team.
Committed members who have served the Party for many years find themselves increasingly caught in a pincer movement by members of the anti-science trans activist network operating in the Party. They file disciplinary cases based on scouring members’ online activity so as to bring accusations of transphobia. The disciplinary formal complaint, often brought anonymously, requests a No Fault Suspension (NFS). Members of the network who dominate the Green Party Regional Council (GPRC) then swiftly grant the suspension.
So members who have been governance chairs in the past, parliamentary candidates, campaigners for women’s rights in particular and even elected councillors find themselves removed from the Party for considerable periods of time. Alison Teale, the selected parliamentary candidate for Sheffield Central, for example, has had a NFS undermining her for over a year and half.
And when such cases are eventually heard by the Disciplinary Committee (DC) and an investigation is carried out, members on a NFS often do find themselves removed from the party for yet another period of time. The DC at present is dominated by trans activists and, somewhat ironically, is overwhelmed with cases.
The current Leadership is doing nothing yet to eliminate such vexatious harassment of members. It is not upholding the right of free speech or insisting there is mutual respect between members with differing views. It may be that there are issues so fundamental that the rifts inside the Green Party cannot be healed.
To avoid that fate, and if the Leaders’ words are to mean anything, there must be, at the very least, an immediate reinstatement of those suspended or expelled becaused of alleged transphobia. But their statement avoids this crucial matter. There also ought to be a thorough overhaul of what are clearly ‘weaponised’ disciplinary processes.
Finally there has to be a frank statement, circulated to all members of the Party, that so-called ‘gender critical’ views are a legitimate view point within the Party.
Parties are often described as “Broad Churches”. They always contain different strands and tendencies. But they can only hold together if there are mechanisms and a culture which caters for it. The Green Party has accumulated mechanisms and a divisive culture which are pushing the Party to breaking points.
Numerous other long-standing members have resigned in despair at a seemingly deeply embedded culture of intolerance and diversion from our Green values and politics. Bland statements from the Leadership and no real action will only continue the demise of the Party as a defender of the planet.
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The Green Light 