After a few years of fallout, the separate Green parties of Britain will ally together again.
It has been a tumultuous time for Green politics in the United Kingdom. For the past three years, the Scottish Greens and the Green Party of England and Wales had not been on speaking terms, with the former voting to cut ties with the latter at a party conference in 2022.
However, a motion to the Scottish Greens’ party council in December 2025, to strengthen ties with their English and Welsh counterparts, was backed overwhelmingly. The motion was brought by the Rainbow Greens.
The fallout
In October 2022, the Scottish Greens passed a motion at their party conference in Dundee to suspend ties with the Green Party of England and Wales, their sister party south of the border. Members of the Scottish Greens accused office-bearers in the Green Party of England and Wales of having engaged in “transphobic rhetoric and conduct” and also complained of the independence of their party being “ignored”. Party members voted for the suspension of ties until the resolution of the transphobia and lack of respect for the independence of the Scottish Green Party.
In this period, the English and Welsh Green Party was rocked by rows of transphobia which saw members suspended and expelled.
All friends again?
A statement was published on 25 January 2026 on the Scottish Green Party website, confirming that the suspension was at an end and the Scottish Greens were seeking to restore their relationship with the Green Party of England and Wales.
Co-leader of the Scottish Green Party Ross Greer said:
“I’m really glad that our members have chosen to strengthen the relationship with our friends in the Green Party of England and Wales. Zack has made his position on Scottish independence and trans rights absolutely clear and has put equality and democracy at the heart of his leadership.”
A Rainbow Greens spokesperson stated:
“The Rainbow Greens are delighted to see both our parties working together again towards a trans inclusive future.”
The sentiment was echoed by the co-chair of the Green Party of England and Wales LGBTIQA+ Greens, Matt Rogan:
“We are over the moon at hearing the news that the Scottish Greens are formally re-opening relations with the Green Party of England and Wales. It’s great that we’ll be working with them again on a unified fight for the rights of LGBTIQA+ people, with trans, non-binary and intersex people in particular coming under attack.”
Zack Polanski has pledged unequivocal support for trans rights, saying:
“Transphobia will absolutely not be tolerated under my leadership, and it will never be acceptable in the Green Party.”
Polanksi was elected leader of his party with 85% of the voting membership (24,265), which was only a 37.6% turnout.
He has also come out in favour of Scottish independence:
“Our policy says that’s a matter for the Scottish Green Party. I’m delighted by this decision. It formalises the reality that our members and Scottish Greens share common values.”
Going forward into elections
During the tension between the two Green parties in Britain, the Green Party of England and Wales polled their highest number of votes ever in a general election (1.9 million) and gained three new seats from Labour and the Conservatives while holding on to the one they already had. In a post on social media on 26 January, the Green Party announced that it had surpassed 190,000 members. This surge began when Zack Polanski first became leader in September 2025. In Scotland, the Greens have had more seats in the Scottish Parliament than the Liberal Democrats for the last decade.
A reunion of the two parties as allies could see them potentially support each other at elections and make each other perform even more strongly. Zack Polanski has commented:
“I look forward to working together in the coming months and years to build our respective parties’ representation in local government, the Senedd and the Scottish Parliament.”
Once again, despite being separate entities, the Scottish Greens and the Green Party of England and Wales are united. With a strong foothold in Holyrood and experience in Bute House, and a charismatic new leader who is swelling the ranks of the Green Party in England and Wales to unprecedented numbers, could the UK be on the verge of green political transformation?
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