THE Greens south of the Border have come under fire from their own allies after posting to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee – despite party policy advocating for the abolition of the monarchy.
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) was urged to “delete” a Twitter post praising the monarchy for having sat on the throne for 70 years.
Sharing various emojis of a crown and the “Jubilee corgi”, the party wrote: “On the #PlatinumJubilee we thank Her Majesty the Queen for her 70 years of service. #HM70”
They shared an image of Queen Elizabeth captioned with the same message, as well as the Green Party logo.
That’s not my Green Party. Its royalism is too nauseating.
— Cllr Jon Molyneux (@jonmolyneuxSGP) June 2, 2022
Negative reactions to the post from members and representatives of the GPEW called for the social media team to rethink the tweet.
The Green Party trade union group questioned the wisdom of the tweet, as did their Scottish counterparts.
Solihull councillor Steve Caudwell suggested that the person responsible for the tweet should soon be removed, writing: “External comms co-ordinator is an elected position that I believe is up this year? #justsaying”
Bristol councillor Emma Edwards shared a Gif with the text “oh God, honey. No”, while one Pippa Maslin – a GPEW member – wrote: “This post does not reflect party policy. I am extremely disappointed and can see that a number of other people are too. Please delete.”
GPEW policy states that the party “believes that the hereditary principle should have no place in government”.
It adds that it will advocate for “the monarchy [to] cease to be an office of government … peers and members of the royal family shall have the same civil rights and fiscal obligations as other citizens”.
Many comparisons were also drawn to the Scottish Greens, who made headlines on Wednesday after declining to take part in a “debate” in Holyrood on the Queen’s Jubilee.
Further representatives of the Scottish Greens also condemned the tweet.
Councillor Dan Hutchison, who represents the party for Glasgow’s Govan, wrote simply: “Delete this please.”
Jon Molyneux, a Glasgow councillor for Pollokshields, added: “That’s not my Green Party. Its royalism is too nauseating.”
Rainbow Greens, a branch of the Scottish party, quipped: “It's pride month, you are celebrating the wrong kind of Queen.”
The GPEW has been approached for comment.