Adrian Ramsay has said he has “no intention of leaving the Green Party” after the party’s conference passed a motion declaring Zionism a form of racism.
Ramsay, who served as co-leader of the Greens from 2021 to 2025, publicly opposed the motion, which passed at the party’s conference in Brighton last week by 1,022 votes to 813. After it passed, Ramsay said he was “deeply saddened” and that it “doesn’t reflect Green principles or my own view”.
The controversial motion also called on the party to back a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine”. Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green Party since September 2025, did not take part in the vote, having left conference early to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, where he is a candidate.
Ramsay stood on a joint ticket with fellow MP Ellie Chowns in the 2025 Green Party leadership election. In this contest, Polanski prevailed with 20,411 votes (84.1%) among the Green membership; Chowns and Ramsay polled 3,705 votes (15.3%).
‘You are welcome’: Lib Dem MPs urge Greens to defect after ‘Zionism is racism’ vote
In a post to X on Thursday, Ramsay wrote: “To be clear, I have no intention of leaving the Green Party. I am urgently working with colleagues who share my concerns about recent developments to get the party back on track.”
The Waveney Valley MP added: “I have been a party member for nearly 30 years, was elected as a Green councillor in my 20s, have served as deputy leader and co-leader and was proud to be elected as an MP for the Green Party in 2024.”
Ramsay said he was “proud to represent the views of the vast majority of party members and my constituents in parliament as a strong advocate for the Green Party’s core purpose: protecting and restoring the natural environment in the wake of major threats to society from environmental decline.”
He concluded: “The need to push these core Green issues up the political agenda has never been greater.”
Ramsay issued the statement in response to a Huffington Post article headlined “Former Green leader suggests he could leave party over ‘Zionism if racism’ motion”.
The article reported that Ramsay had told BBC Radio 5 Live on Wednesday he was “not ruling anything in or out” over his future in the party.
European Greens ‘demand clarity’ from Zack Polanski over ‘Zionism is racism’ motion
According to Huffington Post, Ramsay was asked whether he would resign from the Green Party over the controversy.
He responded: “I’m not ruling anything in or out at this stage… I’m focusing on how we try and address the situation that we find ourselves in.”
He added: “Clearly if I was in Zack’s position I would have made a different decision around showing leadership to the new members that have come into the party around the conference vote, but I’ve deliberately not focused my comments on this issue on Zack or in any other individual.”
Ramsay also told the programme it was a “very upsetting time” for the Greens, and that the controversy needed addressing as a “matter of urgency”.
Ramsay clashed with Zack Polanski repeatedly in the 2025 Green Party leadership contest.
During an LBC Radio debate, Ramsay struggled to say whether he personally liked Polanski. Under repeated questioning, Ramsay responded that they had “worked together” and he “enjoyed working with Zack”. Iain Dale, the LBC Radio host and debate moderator, told Ramsay he could not “even bring yourself to say that you like Zack Polanski”.
RamsAy responded: “Zack is a valued colleague; I like working with Zack.”
Ramsay was first elected as a Green councillor on Norwich City Council in May 2003 aged 21. He served on the council until 2011.
In September 2008, Ramsay was elected as the first deputy leader of the Green Party. (Two years later in 2010, Ramsay defeated a challenge from Derek Wall, winning 73.4% of the vote.) He stepped down as deputy leader in 2012. He stood as the Green Party candidate for the Norwich South constituency in the 2005 general election and 2010 general election.
