THE Scottish Greens are set to debate whether to formally cut ties with the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) over a row about transphobia and devolution.
Rainbow Greens, a representative group for LGBT+ members of the Scottish Greens, have submitted a motion that seeks to suspend the party’s formal association with the GPEW.
It will be debated at the Scottish Greens conference in October, where party members will vote on whether to enact the motion with immediate effect.
Beth Douglas, co-convener of Rainbow Greens, said that instances of transphobia from high-ranking Green party officials were too numerous to ignore.
She said: "Over the past few years, we have seen office-bearers of the Green Party of England and Wales carry out transphobic rhetoric and conduct.
“This includes submitting motions, deemed competent by the Green Party of England and Wales, that would deny trans people gender affirming healthcare and would seek to legislate on devolved matters.
“The Green Party of England and Wales’s Disciplinary action on transphobia remains lethargic, ineffective, and inconsistent.
Reality check: A culture war that pits women, trans people and the wider LGBT+ movement against each other will not help save the planet. This October the Scottish Greens will hear a motion to cut ties with the Green Party of England and Wales. https://t.co/fY1N2UwxOD
— Rainbow Greens (@rainbowgreens) July 20, 2022
“After years of work, we have no other option but to submit a motion to the Scottish Green Party Conference to cut all ties with the Green Party of England and Wales.”
Although the Green Party of England and Wales’s official policies seek to expand transgender rights in the UK - including updating the Gender Recognition Act to include self-ID - in recent years the party has found itself mired in internal rows largely due to the comments of former deputy leader Shahrar Ali.
Ali, who is currently running for to be the party’s deputy leader again, has positioned himself as a defender of “sex-based rights” within the party.
Last year he submitted a motion to the party conference calling for transgender healthcare clinic GenderGP to be prohibited from working in the UK - a move others in the party said would create barriers to transgender care.
He has also been accused of homophobia after claiming that a healthcare worker wearing a badge that identified him as gay was “unprofessional and inappropriate”.
The Rainbow Greens motion also states that official spokespeople within the GPEW have “ignored our independence as a party” and sought to “legislate in devolved competencies”.
Douglas added: “Rent controls, buffer zones, gender recognition reform, a complete ban on conversion therapy, free bus travel for young people and more are now becoming reality because of the Scottish Greens.
“We got there by believing diversity is strength and that a diverse movement is the biggest weapon we have against climate change.
“I hope that this message is the reality check needed to encourage the appropriate action to heal the Green Party of England and Wales, make up for its past complicity on transphobia and be clear going forward a culture war that pits women, trans people and the wider LGBT+ movement against each other will not help save the planet."
