Scottish Greens suspend ties with Green Party of England and Wales

The Scottish Greens have suspended ties with the Green Party of England and Wales after members raised concerns about transphobia.

A motion to suspend the formal association was submitted at the Scottish Greens conference in Dundee.

On Sunday, the motion was passed following a vote by party members, with the suspension taking immediate effect.

It will remain in place until both issues of transphobia and respect for the Scottish Green party and its independence are resolved, the motion indicated.

Trans people in Scotland, England, Wales & beyond deserve a Green party where they feel safe & their interests are promoted

One day, hopefully in the near future, we'll welcome @TheGreenParty back with open arms but this will only happen if they rise to this challenge#sgpconf pic.twitter.com/I9nnnPjmwz
— Rainbow Greens (@rainbowgreens) October 16, 2022

Members stated that office-bearers of the Green Party of England and Wales had engaged in “transphobic rhetoric and conduct”, and claimed that the independence of the Scottish Greens had been ignored.

They also underlined the importance of protecting the rights of transgender people to gender affirming healthcare.

Following approval of the motion, the Rainbow Greens group said: “Trans people in Scotland, England, Wales and beyond deserve a Green Party where they feel safe and their interests are promoted.

“One day, hopefully in the near future, we’ll welcome the Green Party back with open arms but this will only happen if they rise to this challenge.”

We are saddened by this decision. But we completely understand why.

We will continue to work with the party leadership, other liberation and special interest groups, and other allies to resolve the issues that led to this. We will continue to fight transphobia. We will win. 1/3 https://t.co/gyjEOsQYmS
— LGBTIQA+ Greens (@LGBTIQAGreens) October 16, 2022

In a statement, the LGBTIQA+ Greens group stated: “We are saddened by this decision. But we completely understand why.

“We will continue to work with the party leadership, other liberation and special interest groups, and other allies to resolve the issues that led to this.

“We will continue to fight transphobia. We will win.”

They continued: “This decision must be listened to by all in our party – we must not tolerate transphobia in our institutions, among party candidates for election, or in our wider membership.

“Our party next door has made it very clear: transphobia is not and will never be a global green value.

“We saw great progress at conference this year, but we must not rest on our laurels.

“We must continue to fix our party and reaffirm the green values that we share with Scottish Greens.

“We look forward to one day re-establishing ties with them.”