Frictions have come to the surface among Green councillors in Leeds (where Greens hold 10 out of 99 seats, down from 11). Councillors Eden Hills and Cristiana Mirosanu have both released public statements criticising the majority of the council group. Subsequently, councillor Mirosanu has resigned from the Green group.
The disagreements emerged after Private Eye magazine revealed that Green Party Deputy Leader and Leeds councillor Mothin Ali had been allocated a special responsibility allowance for the council, suggesting that this was to supplement his work for the party nationally.
But this follows other tensions in Leeds Green Party, including the blocking of a motion, backed by Cllr Mirosanu, for the council’s group leader to be elected by party members. The leaked condescending messages from the group leader accuse party members of not having “any idea of what the role entails”. The motion was ruled out of order at the request of Mothin Ali.
In recent months, councillors Hills and Mirosanu have addressed a delegate meeting of Leeds Trades Council, to discuss how they could use their elected positions as a platform for trade union campaigns and demands. Socialist Party members continue to raise the demand, supported by the three main council trade unions nationally, for the council to set a needs-based, no-cuts budget – calling on councillors, including the Greens, to fight for that position.
Ahead of this May’s council elections, the Socialist Party in Leeds wrote to the Green Party, raising that demand. Unfortunately, the reply from Leeds Greens, signed by Cllr Mirosanu, concluded: “We in the Green Group will oppose any cuts that are unfair and/or discriminatory, or where we believe there is another possible solution, but we can’t commit to always oppose any cuts to services, as much as we would love to.”
Socialists would invite the councillors to reconsider this position. A key step in building a mass movement alongside the trade unions to demand the funding our city needs, is seeing councillors prepared to put their necks on the line to take a stand against cuts. Only verbally opposing cuts and then voting for them, as the Labour group leading the council has done for the last fifteen years, will only end up disillusioning those looking for real change.
Iain Dalton
