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Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali says he is as English as a Yorkshire cup of tea, rejecting Suella Braverman's claims about British Asians and English identity.
Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali declared himself as English as a Yorkshire cup of tea at the party's conference in Brighton on Saturday, rejecting claims by Reform UK's Suella Braverman that British Asians cannot be English. Ali, a Leeds councillor of Bangladeshi descent, told activists that being brown and Muslim does not make him less English. The conference comes days before party leader Zack Polanski's bid to become an MP in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
Braverman's Comments Spark Debate
Suella Braverman, who was home secretary in the previous Conservative government before defecting to Reform UK, suggested on BBC's Question Time this week that British Asians like herself cannot be English. She said she is British of Asian ethnicity rather than English because of her family's heritage.
Her stance was attacked by former prime minister Rishi Sunak, who warned of a very slippery slope by turning questions about nationality into a DNA test. Ali also rejected Braverman's claims, telling Green activists that he is as English as a Yorkshire cup of tea. Activists booed the mention of Braverman.
Greens Face Internal Row Over Motion
The Greens' gathering in Brighton risks being overshadowed by a row over a controversial motion due to be debated on Sunday that declares Zionism is racism. The motion states that Zionism, defined as support for an ethnonationalist Jewish State, will be treated as any other form of racism by the party.
Former Green leaders Caroline Lucas and Adrian Ramsay have both criticised the motion as divisive and wrong. Polanski has also been warned that it could be seen as a sign that Jewish people are not welcome. Many of those who will debate the motion on Sunday are likely to have only joined the party in recent months during its membership surge.
Ali Calls for Unity Amid Growth
Amid the internal party row, Ali said that the Greens' sudden growth should be a strength but only if members learn how to disagree. He told party members that they have grown enormously and quickly, which brings disagreement. People have come from different political traditions, communities, and experiences.
Ali said that difference is not betrayal and disagreement is not disloyalty. Losing a vote does not make the person who beat you your enemy, and winning does not give permission to humiliate those who disagreed. He added that being good at disagreement must never mean tolerating racism, misogyny, homophobia or intimidation inside the movement.
Ali also urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to declare a national emergency on unprecedented levels of racist violence and intimidation. He said this is not just a policing problem but a test of whether a diverse democracy can protect the equal right of everybody to belong. Ali previously faced a row over his comments about the 7 October terror attacks on Israel and declared his local election victory in 2024 as a win for the people of Gaza.
He claimed the Greens have an opportunity to become one of the most inclusive political movements in modern Britain.
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Mothin Ali Green Party Suella Braverman Reform UK Brighton Zionism Rishi Sunak
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