Green-Labour Alliance on Palestine in Hackney May Election

0:00On March 27, a Green Party candidate for Mayor of Hackney, Zoe Garbit, has joined forces with former labor official Heather Mendick for the May elections. Garbit, an ally of party leaders Zach Polanski, is running a pro-Palestine campaign to challenge the current labor mayor. The two are collaborating on a joint ticket, urging voters to back their platform. Mendick served as labor's Jewish community liaison under Jeremy Corbyn, but was expelled in 2022 over anti-Semitism allegations, which she called a witch-hunt. On October 7, when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people, she described the attack as an act of armed resistance rather than terrorism and said Palestine had a right to defend itself. Meanwhile, Green Deputy leader Moth and Ali launched the party's local election campaign this week. He accused the government of being complicit in Gaza and called labor leader Keir Starmer, as spineless, while avoiding condemnation of a party motion, linking Zionism to racism.

1:02Labor figures have hit back hard. One MP accused the Greens of ignoring anti-Semitism by partnering with Mendick, and a former minister called it hard-left agitation that distracts from. Local issues like schools and clean streets, the Greens have distanced themselves, saying, Mendick's views do not reflect their repeated condemnations of the October 7 attacks. As the May vote nears, this alliance highlights tensions over Middle East views in UK local politics.