Warwick District Council leader narrowly escapes no-confidence vote as Zionism row rumbles on

The Green-Labour coalition that has run the district since May 2023 has been hanging in the balance for a fortnight after Labour chair Bridget Phillipson MP issued Green councillors with an ultimatum.

A controversial motion that declared Zionism as racism was passed by less than one per cent of the Green Party membership at its national conference.

It was branded “antisemitic” by prime minister Andy Burnham (Lab) and Labour chair Bridget Phillipson MP later issued an ultimatum to Green councillors that Labour partners with – reject the motion and call for national leaders to “reconsider” or pacts like the one that runs Warwick District Council would be ended.

Vague statements

Statements from the Warwick District Green Party described a “general consensus” that councillors “do not agree with the motion as it stands” but there was no outright rejection of the policy. It was made clear the motion could not be overturned and Labour was accused of “political intimidation”.

A statement provided to the Local Democracy Reporting Service by the district’s Labour group leader and portfolio holder for housing Councillor Jess Melrose (Leamington Clarendon), which she ascribed to Labour’s West Midlands regional office, then welcomed Cllr Davison’s “rejection” of the motion. It spelled Cllr Davison’s name incorrectly.

Cllr Melrose declined to comment on the significant difference between the Green position and Labour’s interpretation of it, inviting us to take it up with the regional office, while in his own interview, Cllr Davison declined to clarify whether the Green statements amounted to outright rejection.

When asked for his personal view on the motion and how it was voted through, Cllr Davison said: “I am going to duck both of those questions.

“First of all it is Green Party policy. I am a Green Party member so I have to abide by that.”

Put to him that great stock had always been placed on Green councillors being able to hold and express their own views, Cllr Davison still declined.

“It is fair to ask the question but I’m not going to answer it. The reason for that is this is a hugely complex situation, it can get heated very quickly on both sides,” he said.

“Those who think it is nice and simple are just, I think, wrong on that. It is overlaid by this situation. If I start getting into that, it is unhelpful.”

Asked whether the Zionism motion fairly represented the Green Party, given the small numbers voting on it, Cllr Davison said that "doesn’t alter the fact it is now Green Party policy", reiterating it could not be changed retrospectively.

Cllr Davison confirmed he did not attend the conference or vote on the motion.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service then made contact with Labour’s West Midlands regional office and their representative said the statement forwarded by Cllr Melrose had not been issued by them.

Cllr Melrose was approached after Wednesday’s council meeting but declined to comment.

Full council

Cllr Davison addressed full council on the matter on Wednesday.

Still leaning on the initial Green statements, he insisted it was “not appropriate to discuss national party policies covering international issues", adding that councillors had received “hate” from pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli activists.

Condemning all forms of racism and discrimination, he stressed that the Zionism motion would have “no impact on our local policies or how this administration functions”.

“National Labour may instruct our Labour colleagues to leave the administration,” he acknowledged.

“Applying our corporate strategy values, we have discussed this possibility openly as cabinet and with senior officers.

“We are all focused on delivering for residents regardless of how events unfold. These national events do mean it is harder but we are still working hard, showing respect and being collaborative.

“These values will continue to guide our actions whatever the choices of national parties and the decisions of the council here.”

It was all still too vague for Cllr Davison’s predecessor Councillor Andrew Day (Con, Bishop’s Tachbrook) who asked whether the leader had complied with Labour’s “very clear” requests.

“This council is about to set its budget, is in the process of dealing with local government reorganisation... plus we have a major decision to take on the local plan,” said Cllr Day.

“We need to have confidence that this administration will be able to chart us through those decisions, so I would like a clear and unambiguous statement from you – almost yes and no, without wishing to oversimplify.”

Cllr Davison said that internal Green decisions were “not something I wish to disclose here”.

“We’ve made a public statement," he said.

"It is incredibly sensitive at many levels. If I say something that somebody may construe slightly differently, quite a few of my colleagues will get a lot of hate mail so I am not going beyond what I have said.

“It is up to national Labour, whoever makes the decision, to answer the question you are asking.”

Cllr Day then asked the council’s deputy leader Councillor Chris King (Lab, Leamington Clarendon) whether “this council is being run by Labour’s national executive" or has an "effective" team at the top.

Cllr King insisted the current set-up was “extremely effective” and “harmonious”.

“Whatever is being said at a national level is being said, for my part I just wish to continue serving our residents and I will continue to do that,” he concluded.

He stopped short of any reference to Labour’s national executive – the 39-strong panel, including the prime minister, that will rule on whether the coalition is allowed to continue.

Call for no-confidence vote

The answers were not good enough for Cllr Day who moved to suspend standing orders to debate “whether the council has confidence in its leader and administration”.

The meeting was adjourned for 15 minutes, during which group leaders from all parties met privately with council chair Councillor Pam Redford (Con, Cubbington & Leek Wootton) in her office.

A vote was then taken on whether the matter should be debated with Cllr Day invited to make the case.

“It is a question that pertains to who is running the council,” he said.

“Are we sitting and waiting for the Labour national executive to tell us whether we have an administration or not?

“We have a significant budget coming up. The cabinet member for resources has made it very clear that we don’t have the wiggle room that we had previously.

“We have local government reorganisation, various stages on that merry-go-round, and a significant decision to be taken before Christmas on whether we submit our new South Warwickshire Local Plan. These are material matters affecting our residents."

He concluded: “This is our council. Our residents expect us to run it for their benefit and that it is not being run by Westminster, by any particular party or any national executive, which is the position we find ourselves in now.”

He received backing from Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Alan Boad (Leamington Lillington) who said: “It is right that we have the debate and understand where we are going before we make a final decision.”

No one else spoke.

All Conservative, Lib Dem and Whitnash Residents councillors present wanted to question Cllr Davison’s leadership but lost the vote 20-15.

That was because each of the Green and Labour councillors present were joined by independent Councillor Lowell Williams (Kenilworth Park Hill), who left the Greens last week having found himself out of step with the direction of the national party”, and ex-Lib Dem independent Councillor Josh Payne (Cubbington & Leek Wootton) in voting against Cllr Day's plea.

Chair Cllr Redford and two Warwick independents abstained – opted against voting either way. Six councillors were not present on the night.

What now?

Councillors had to vote on whether the debate should happen because the matter was not brought to the council agenda in advance.

Putting it in as a normal motion with advance notice would only require a second councillor to support it in order to ensure the debate happens in future, and it would be fraught with difficulty given the district’s tricky political balance.

There are 44 councillors, meaning 23 votes are needed for an outright majority. The Greens have 14 and Labour seven. There are nine Liberal Democrats and five Conservatives.

Two independents are ex-Greens and one is a former Lib Dem, while three former Labour councillors now form the group of Warwick independents. The three Whitnash Residents councillors are not aligned with any mainstream party.

In a statement after the meeting, Warwick District Green Party accused Cllr Day of a “premature claim because of a national Labour ultimatum that we are yet to see the outcome of”.

“This vote shows the strength of the administration. Green councillors are committed to getting on with the job and serving local residents,” it concluded.