Newquay Mayor Drew Creek defects from Green Party to Labour over 'Zionism is racism' motion

The leader of the Green Party on Cornwall Council has defected to Labour following the party's controversial "Zionism is racism" motion. Drew Creek, who is Mayor of Newquay and councillor for the Trenance ward, joined the Labour and Co-operatives group on Thursday. His move came after Green Party members backed the motion at the party's conference earlier this month. Creek said he had "huge respect" for Greens across Cornwall but that the motion "crossed a line". The motion described Zionism as an ideology supporting "an ethnonationalist Jewish state in historic Palestine to the exclusion and/or domination of the non-Jewish population". It has been criticised by Jewish groups, some Green MPs and opposition parties. Creek said he had hoped the party would step back from the stance, but that instead "Zack Polanski and the leadership has doubled down". "I can't stand behind that, and I won't pretend otherwise," he said. Polanski has previously said he would not overturn the motion. Explaining his decision, Creek said: "People in Newquay don't want politicians driving division. They want someone who'll fix the roads, protect our coast, fight for local services and bring people together." He added that Newquay was his home and where he was raising his family, and that he came into politics to stand up for the town, saying Labour was where he believed he could do that best. Kate Ewert, leader of the Labour and Co-operative Group on Cornwall Council, said Creek's decision "highlights the serious questions about Zack Polanski's leadership". Noah Law, MP for St Austell and Newquay, said: "In this period of polarised politics, it takes great courage to stand up for what you believe in." He described Creek as steadfast in his beliefs, easy to work with, and a good advocate for Newquay. The Cornwall Green Party said it was "deeply saddened" by Creek's decision and noted that it does not "try to impose uniformity of belief" among its members and elected representatives. A spokesperson said Creek had "done excellent work as a Green councillor" and acknowledged there were "different views within the Green Party on the 'Zionism is Racism' motion". The spokesperson added: "Disagreements over the wording of this one motion should not distract from the fact that the Green Party is united in its condemnation of the racist genocide and ethnic cleansing that Israel is perpetrating in Gaza and the occupied territories, and united in its demand for much tougher sanctions on Israel." They contrasted this with Labour, which they said "refuses even to recognise that what we are seeing is genocide, and continues to allow arms exports to and intelligence-sharing with the government that is committing it", adding it was hard to see how anyone serious about climate action, inequality and Gaza could switch to Labour. The motion has drawn wider scrutiny, including criticism from the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which has declared the Greens a racist party, and the equality watchdog, which has written to the party about the motion.