A coalition between the Green Party and Labour on Lewes district council in East Sussex has collapsed following a dispute over a controversial motion adopted by Labour’s national executive committee. The motion, which labels Zionism as a racist ideology and advocates a one-state solution, has prompted a significant backlash within several local governments where the two parties share power.

In mid-October, Labour’s national executive committee issued an ultimatum to Green groups across 18 councils with power-sharing agreements, demanding that they formally reject the motion or risk the termination of their arrangements. Lewes district council became the first to announce a mutual decision to end its Green-Labour coalition on Friday, despite Lewes Greens publicly stating their opposition to the motion.

The motion has stirred varying responses among councils. Some, including Broadland in Norwich, West Sussex, and North Somerset, have distanced themselves from the motion without yet deciding whether to continue Labour-Green partnerships. Meanwhile, Greens in Havant borough council in Hampshire have challenged the Labour directive, maintaining that the motion is not antisemitic and opposing external demands on their local political stance.

The dispute is particularly critical in nine councils where the Greens hold a majority sufficient to influence budgets and policymaking. Lewes is one of three such councils—in addition to Sheffield city council and Warwick district council—where Labour’s ultimatum has created significant uncertainty about the future of coalitions.

Lewes council is led by Green councillor Zoe Nicholson. With no overall control, the Greens hold 18 seats to Labour’s seven. Nicholson described the breakup as a product of “unnecessary pressures from outside of the council” and called Labour’s ultimatum “just not acceptable.” She emphasized that none of the Green councillors support the motion and that the local alliance had not been endangered by the national party’s position. Nicholson also noted Labour colleagues were placed in a difficult position by their national leadership.

Labour’s group leader in Lewes, Chris Collier, resigned from the party four days after the ultimatum and now serves as an independent. Though he has not publicly commented, reports suggest he opposed Labour’s handling of the issue.

Despite the formal end of the coalition, Nicholson said the Greens and Labour will continue to cooperate under a revised cabinet structure to address local issues such as housing and homelessness.

The controversy surrounding the Zionism motion also had repercussions beyond Lewes last week. Drew Creek, the Green mayor of Newquay, switched his affiliation to the Labour and Co-operative Party, citing his inability to support Labour’s direction and the Zionism motion as key reasons for the change.

Labour is expected to provide further updates on the status of its power-sharing agreements with Green groups in other councils early this week. Several other local coalitions are reportedly at risk amid ongoing tensions related to the motion.