Arabic version: بيري تعرب عن أسفها بشأن قرار حزب الخضر حول الصهيونية

According to The Guardian, Green MP Siân Berry said party members opposed to the conference motion declaring “Zionism is racism” were “persuaded” not to campaign publicly against it while the Holborn and St Pancras byelection was taking place.

Berry said she had argued and voted against the motion, but accepted that she should have done more to stop it. She apologised and said its passage had caused “genuine damage” to the Green party’s reputation.

She did not identify particular people who persuaded opponents not to speak out, and it was unclear whether she was referring to specific individuals or a wider climate of opinion within the party. Berry urged the party to address flaws in the motion.

Berry also said she was pleased that Green leader Zack Polanski had since said he would have voted against the version of the motion that passed had he been present. Polanski has said he agrees with the motion’s substance but not its wording, describing it as “imperfect” and saying he wants the party to revise it at the earliest opportunity.

The debate followed Labour’s victory over the Greens in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection. Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali won 12,292 votes, or 45% of the vote, while Polanski received 8,928 votes, or 33%. Turnout was 38.7%, reported as the lowest for an English byelection during this parliament.