Green Party Withdrew Statement on Cass Review After LGBTIQA+ Greens Threatened To Remove Support For Leaders

The Green Party withdrew a statement about the Cass Review into NHS treatment of youngsters seeking help on gender and identity because it is so split over the issue.

The statement was issued in April but withdrawn after just an hour, PoliticsHome has been told. One faction, the LGBTIQA+ Greens, threatened to remove their support for the party’s leaders if the statement remained online, according to Zoe Hatch.

Hatch is one of four former Green Party Women chairs who are considering bringing group legal action against the Green Party, after they were suspended for expressing gender critical views.

“The party did actually put out a statement about Cass. And it got taken down within an hour because the LGBTIQA+ Greens complained about it and allegedly said that they would no longer give internal support to [Green co-leader] Carla Denyer and [Green deputy leader] Zack Polanski if that statement wasn't taken out,” she said.

The Green Party did not dispute that it removed the statement from its website. 

Dr Hilary Cass’ independent review was sharply critical of some treatments, such as puberty blockers, for going beyond current medical evidence. Its publication has further widened deep splits within the Greens over gender issues.  

Hatch, Jude English, Emma Bateman and Dawn Furness have all been suspended or expelled from the Green Party in the last five years, in what they see as a purge of gender critical voices within the party.

In February, a court ruled that Shahrar Ali, a Green Party spokesperson, was wrongfully removed from his position over his views on transgender rights. The party’s financial auditors had previously noted the case left "uncertainty" about its ability to keep running normally.

But in an online meeting this