North Yorkshire Green councillor quits over party direction change

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 9 Oct, 12:25 · Archive

A North Yorkshire councillor has quit the Green Party, saying it no longer shares his values.

Cllr Kevin Foster, who represents Hipswell and Colburn, has quit the Green Party to sit as an independent councillor. He said the party 'has left me' and no longer reflects the values that initially drew him to join nine years ago.

The Huddersfield Examiner reports his resignation follows tensions at the Green Party's annual conference in Brighton, where delegates voted to define Zionism as a form of racism. The decision has caused a split within the party and sparked allegations of antisemitism from Jewish groups, with four of the party's five MPs condemning it. Whilst Cllr Foster did not explicitly reference the conference, it is believed to have influenced his choice.

In a statement, he said: 'The reason I've left is that the party has gone in a different direction to what I was hoping it would go. It's not the party it was, and it doesn't hold the same priorities it did when I joined nine years ago.' He added that he would continue to serve his residents as an independent.

How it is being reported

• 'I feel like the party has left me' - Green councillor who ran for mayor quitsCllr Kevin Foster, who represents Hipswell and Colburn, has announced he will now sit as an independent councillorHuddersfield Examiner · 9 Oct, 04:00
• North Yorkshire councillor quits Green Party saying ‘the party has left me’A prominent North Yorkshire councillor has quit the Green Party declaring that the party has changed direction and no longer shares the priorities that attracted him to it.Yorkshire Post · 8 Oct, 17:45

In this story: Kevin Foster · Green Party · Hipswell and Colburn · North Yorkshire · Brighton

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