New Lewes cabinet member following Green/Lab split

The former alliance had been one of 11 power-sharing arrangements between the two parties, which ended following a controversial Green Party policy motion on Zionism.

The authority held its first cabinet meeting since the split on Thursday (November 12), during which Green Party council leader Zoe Nicholson confirmed who from her group will be taking on the roles formerly held by Labour councillors.

Opening the meeting, Cllr Nicholson said: “I want to welcome [and] note some changes to cabinet since the last time we met … and to thank Cllr Christine Robinson and also Cllr Laurence O’Connor for their significant contribution to this cabinet, we’ll be doing the same thing on Monday at full council.

“It is sad where we are, but we are where we are and we’re getting on with the business of delivering good quality services to our residents. So, thank you for their part in delivering that.”

Prior to the split, Cllr Robinson had been both deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for community wellbeing, while Cllr O’Connor had been cabinet member for planning and infrastructure.

Both Labour councillors represent East Saltdean and Telscombe Cliffs.

Cllr Nicholson confirmed Seaford East councillor Ezra Cohen had become the cabinet member for planning and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Ouse Valley and Ringmer councillor Johnny Denis replaces Cllr Robinson as deputy leader and has added her community wellbeing responsibilities to his existing cabinet portfolio for arts, tourism and leisure.

The end of the alliance had been announced by the council’s Green group on Friday, October 30. A Green Party spokesman had said the two parties had “mutually agreed to end the alliance”.

The following week the Labour Party issued a statement confirming the alliance was one of 11 power-sharing agreements between the two parties, which were to end. These included an coalition arrangement on neighbouring Wealden District Council.

In this statement, the Labour Party said it had asked its council groups to write to Green Party partners and seek “a clear and unambiguous public statement”, which both rejected the policy and called on the party’s national leadership to reconsider it.

The policy, which says Zionism is a form of racism, had been adopted as a result of a motion debated at the Green Party on October 4.

It described Zionism as an ideology which supports an “ethnonationalist Jewish state” and had led to the “disenfranchisement and destruction” of Palestinians.

The policy motion has seen criticism from both Jewish groups and some senior Green Party figures.

Lewes District Council’s Green Party group had issued several statements in the weeks leading up to the split.

These included an open letter to the authority’s Labour councillors. The full letter can be found here: LINK (https://lewes.greenparty.org.uk/2026/10/18/open-letter/).

Within this letter, a spokesman said the authority’s Green Party councillor group did not support the motion.

Around this time Chris Collier, the then leader of the council’s Labour group, resigned from the party, but made no comment on his reasons why.

Lewes District Council is currently made up of 18 Green councillors; 14 Lib Dems; seven Labour councillors; and two independents (including Cllr Collier). No party has an overall majority.