A trans row has erupted inside the Green Party after a campaign group accused the party of orchestrating a “witch-hunt” against members with gender-critical views.
Green Women’s Declaration has sent a pre-action letter claiming the party made “a deliberate and unlawful attempt to prevent women from expressing gender-critical views” after withdrawing the group’s stall from last year’s party conference in Bournemouth.
The organisation is also preparing to challenge the party’s “queerphobia” guidance, arguing it effectively criminalises gender-critical beliefs that are protected under the Equality Act 2010.
According to the legal correspondence, the party’s definition of queerphobia “precisely encapsulates a gender-critical view”, meaning members holding such beliefs could automatically be considered in breach of party rules.
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Jude English, 60, told The Times: “The way the Green Party has been acting is akin to a witch-hunt, purging people with gender-critical views.”
She described members of the group as “middle-aged ladies with leaflets” who simply wanted to discuss their views at the conference.
Ms English said cancelling the stall amounted to party leaders declaring: “We can't allow these women's voices inside [the leader Zack Polanski’s] big conference.”
She accused the party of citing safety concerns as a pretext for silencing dissent.
The organisation is also preparing to challenge the Green Party’s 'queerphobia' guidance
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“Safety is being used as an excuse for censorship, and the queerphobia guidance is a kind of nonsense that they've made up to justify this ideology they have become wedded to,” she said.
“As soon as you're accused of being queerphobic, you're smeared and nasty and therefore you're out.”
The legal letter claims tensions have been building for several years.
At the party’s 2022 conference, trans-rights activists are said to have proposed a motion seeking the suspension of members who held gender-critical views.
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The Green Women's Declaration had their stall withdrawn from last year’s party conference in Bournemouth
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The following year, the group alleges that activists seized their leaflets and tore down their banner during the autumn conference.
Despite submitting a formal internal complaint, the group says no disciplinary action was taken.
The letter also states that seven co-chairs of Green Party Women who were members of the campaign group have since been suspended or expelled.
According to the legal correspondence, this amounts to “protracted and systemic hostile action” against members holding gender-critical beliefs.
The Green Party’s 'guidance to identify queerphobia' was introduced in 2023
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The party’s “guidance to identify queerphobia”, introduced in 2023, defines queerphobia as bigotry, prejudice or discrimination against members of the LGBT community.
Behaviour considered transphobic includes saying trans women are not “real women”, trans men are not “real men”, or that non-binary identities are invalid.
The document also lists describing a trans woman as a “biological man” as an example of transphobic conduct.
A Greens spokeswoman told The Times: “The Green Party always strives to be a welcoming and inclusive place.
"After careful consideration, we were unable to grant GWD a stall at our autumn conference 2025, for reasons we explained to them at the time.
"As this matter is now the subject of threatened court proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
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