Green Party Accused Of Keeping “Unlawful” Gender Rules For Leadership Contest
Zack Polanski (Credit: Matt Priestley Photographer UK / Alamy Stock Photo)
4 min read
There is a legal row over whether the Green Party's leadership contest rules are compliant with the recent Supreme Court gender ruling, PoliticsHome can reveal.
The party currently requires leaders and deputy leaders who are job-sharing to be “of a different gender” from each other. Its constitution specifies that “gender is self-determined”.
A spokesperson told PoliticsHome that the party believes this to be "legally sound".
However, Green Women’s Declaration (GWD), a group initiated by Green Party members believing in the right to advocate for women as a sex, argue that it directly contravenes the recent Supreme Court ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex, rather than by self-identification, for the purpose of the Equality Act.
The group wrote to the Green Party Executive (GPEx) in May outlining their concerns about what they describe as the incompatibility of the ruling and party rules, but at the time of writing, they had not received a response.
Zoe Hatch, advocacy director of GWD, told PoliticsHome that the group is now seeking legal advice on the matter.
Maya Forstater, chief executive of charity Sex Matters, said: “The Green Party cannot even say how many ‘self-identified genders’ there are, let alone make a case that some are underrepresented. Its policy puts it at odds with the law. And this has been clear since For Women Scotland’s earlier victory in February 2022.
“If it continues with this unlawful policy, the Green Party is exposing itself to legal liability which it can ill afford.”
Nominations for the party’s internal elections for leader and deputy leaders opened on 2 June. Those who have so far confirmed they are running for the deputy leadership are Mothin Ali and Thomas Daw, both men; Rachel Millward, Amanda Onwuemene and Antoinette Fernandez, all women; and Ani Townsend, who identifies as non-binary.
All are running as individual candidates, but two will be elected to serve together if Green members choose a single leader, namely Zack Polanski, rather than co-leaders Ellie Chowns and Adrian Ramsay.
If this situation arose and a female non-binary deputy leadership candidate were to win alongside another female candidate, GWD says the Green Party could be exposed to direct sex discrimination – treating candidates differently based on gender identity rather than the legally protected characteristic of biological sex – or ultra vires action – operating outside legal powers by using definitions that contradict established law – under the Equality Act 2010.
The Green Party can only change such rules via a two-thirds majority vote of the membership at the annual conference taking place in September.
Approached by PoliticsHome, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), responsible for enforcing equalities legislation in the UK, said it could not comment on a specific case such as the Green Party rules.
However, PoliticsHome was pointed towards EHRC guidance, which states that those with duties under the Equality Act 2010, including political parties, should be following the law as set out in the Supreme Court judgement, and looking at what changes need to be made to existing policies.
Townsend, who is running to be deputy leader, told PoliticsHome: “Green Party policy is clear, trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid. Our policies and constitution are voted for by the membership, and when challenged, the membership has repeatedly reaffirmed this position.
“I wholeheartedly support the party position on this topic. The Green Party, alongside many human rights organisations and lawyers, has challenged the Supreme Court ruling and EHRC for being ill-considered and impractical.”
The leadership campaigns of Polanski and of Chowns and Ramsay did not respond to a request for comment.
The Good Law Project, which is challenging the Supreme Court Judgement, refused to comment on the basis that it is seeking active litigation against the EHRC guidance.
A Green Party Spokesperson told PoliticsHome: "The Green Party's internal rules state that if a single leader is elected, there must be two deputy leaders of different genders, noting that gender is self-defined. We are confident that this is a legally sound position to hold.
"The Green Party has long championed equality of all genders and is proud to have provided leadership on gender equality over many years."
