# Inside the misogyny motion aimed at Polanski's Greens > Green women say they were sidelined and shouted down, and a motion at next month's conference will put it to the whole party. - Title: Inside the misogyny motion aimed at Polanski's Greens - Summary: Green women say they were sidelined and shouted down, and a motion at next month's conference will put it to the whole party. A conference motion claims… - Keywords: green party, misogyny, uk politics, zack polanski, party conference, news, entertainment, Inside, motion, aimed, Polanski's, Greens - Source: Dailymail — https://dailymail.com/news/article-16124409/Women-quit-Greens-extraordinary-instances-misogyny-minimised-partys-leadership.html?ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490&ns_mchannel=rss - Published: 2026-09-11T17:44:19+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: green party, misogyny, uk politics, zack polanski, party conference, news, entertainment ## Women are walking out Members say women have left Zack Polanski's Green Party over misogyny they believe was waved away rather than dealt with. > Women have quit Zack Polanski's Green Party over 'extraordinary instances of misogyny', it has been claimed. ## A motion hits the agenda The claims arrive in a motion submitted for the Greens' autumn conference next month, which turns private complaints into a public argument. ## What women reported Female councillors and officers say male colleagues pushed them out of the room, talked down to them, or turned openly hostile. > sidelined, patronised, intimidated or treated with hostility by male colleagues ## Not just a few bad actors The motion frames this as a structural failure, accusing the party of refusing to face misogyny built into how it operates. > institutionalised misogyny ## Ranked below other causes The sharpest charge is about hierarchy. Complaints about sexism, it says, get filed as a lesser grievance than other kinds of discrimination. > downplayed, denied or treated as less serious than other forms of oppression ## The member behind it Peter Thelwell, who stood as a Green council candidate in York, wrote the motion and is pressing members to back it. ## Gathering the evidence He is asking fellow members to send in anonymised accounts of misogyny inside the party, building a record that no single complaint could make. ## A month of messages Thelwell says the response has not been a trickle. Women have been contacting him directly, and the volume is part of his case. > countless direct accounts ## Gone, or close to going Those women had either already left the party or were seriously weighing it up, he says, because of what happened and how little it counted. > extraordinary instances of misogyny that have occurred and been minimised ## Fix the complaints panel The first demand is procedural. Misogyny allegations should carry the same weight in the party's complaints process as any other discrimination claim. > treat misogyny allegations as seriously as other discrimination ## Write the materials It also asks Green bosses to produce plain-language resources on patriarchy, misogyny, gendered power and intersectionality. > produce accessible educational materials on patriarchy, misogyny, gendered power and intersectionality ## Make training mandatory Optional learning is not the ask. The motion wants compulsory training rolled out to party staff. > mandatory training ## A candidate goes on record Jennifer Dee Norman-Kerr, the Green candidate in Leeds East at the 2024 general election, backed the picture with her own local party's experience. ## What Leeds reported Councillors, candidates and officers there described abusive language, intimidation, and colleagues meddling in their election campaigns. > abusive language, intimidation and interference in election campaigns ## The cost in candidates People quit early, pulled out of roles, and stopped putting their names forward. Fewer women and non-binary members now stand for election. > early resignations, withdrawals from participation and fewer women and non-binary people nominating themselves for elections ## The party's first answer A Green spokesperson pointed to process, noting that policy is made democratically and any member is free to submit a motion. > The Green Party makes policy in a democratic way, and all members can submit motions to our conference. ## Most motions never get heard Conference motions go through a prioritisation ballot, and the party stressed that the vast majority are never debated at all. > These motions are subject to a prioritisation ballot. The vast majority will not be discussed. ## A source disputes the scale An unnamed party source rejected the description outright, both for Leeds specifically and for the number of internal misogyny complaints. > I don't recognise this as an accurate characterisation of the party ## The confidentiality shield That source leaned on internal process, saying most members keep investigations and their outcomes private, and so does he. > The majority of members respect the confidentiality of our internal investigations and their outcomes, as do I. ## The record the party cites The Greens point to their own work: policies on violence against women and girls, domestic abuse funding, childcare access and reproductive rights. > Misogyny is sadly still pervasive across society ## Key takeaway A conference motion claims women are leaving the Greens over misogyny the party plays down, while the party says it does not recognise that picture.