Five councillors have defected from Labour to the Greens in a blow to Sir Keir Starmer. Green Party leader Zack Polanski vowed that his party is ready to “bury” Labour at next year’s local elections as he welcomed the London councillors.
He said: “I think they are broken, and I think we’re ready to bury them.” Mr Polanski made his comments at an event welcoming the defection of five councillors in the borough of Brent, north-west London, from Labour to the Greens.
The defections included a former cabinet member, Harbi Farah, and a former whip, Iman Ahmadi-Moghaddam, along with Mary Mitchell, Tony Ethapemi, and Erica Gbajumo.
Councillors Farah, Moghaddam, Ethapemi and Gbajumo were deselected as Labour candidates earlier this year.
A Labour spokesperson said they had fallen “below the standards we require of those seeking to represent” the party.
Ms Mitchell said the group had felt unable to represent their communities as Labour members.
She said: “We always knew that being a party of government would put the principles and values of the party to the test, but we’ve watched as on every issue this Government goes further away from the founding Labour Party principles of democracy, social justice and equality.
“We have a huge amount of respect for many of our hard-working Labour colleagues and party members in Brent, but we don’t feel that the party represents the values that we hold any longer.”
Green Party leader Zack Polanski (Image: Getty)
The defections come as Green Party membership continues to surge under Mr Polanski’s leadership from 70,000 in September to more than 180,000.
The jump is putting pressure on Labour’s left flank as the Prime Minister faces ongoing questions over his leadership.
The rise has also prompted speculation that Labour MPs could jump ship.
But Mr Polanski played down the prospect of that happening, saying: “What I’m really concentrating and focused on, actually, is winning Green councils and Green MPs for the very first time, rather than defectors.
“So defectors are very welcome. But also I’m absolutely confident that we now have a platform, both nationally and certainly in London, where we can and will win seats starting from scratch in some of these areas.”
A London Labour spokesperson said: “The Labour Party operates rigorous and transparent selection processes and maintains the highest standards for its candidates.
“Mr Polanski’s approach suggests a far lower bar for entry, raising serious questions about the level of scrutiny and judgment applied in the Green Party.”
They added: “We look forward to the 2026 local elections, where we will stand on a proud record of delivery and on our work hand in hand with a Labour mayor and a Labour national government to deliver for the people of Brent.”
