On Friday 3 October from 10am, former members of the Green Party of England and Wales will gather outside the Bournemouth International Centre to protest unfair punishment by the party’s disciplinary committees.
This is the second year that the group, calling themselves Greens in Exile, has lobbied the party’s national conference about the way they have been suspended, expelled or forced to resign over issues of free speech, open debate and party democracy.
The majority of Exiles have been punished for stating their beliefs about sex and gender, namely that biological sex cannot be changed and that women’s sex-based rights and child safeguarding require urgent protection. According to the group, this puts them at odds with the party’s official line on gender identity.
Voices from the Exiles
Robbie Spence, who was expelled in February 2025 while on the party’s Disciplinary Committee and Policy Development Committee, said:
“The Green Party tolerates debate on Nato, nuclear power, even HS2 trains – but not on sex and gender. If you question the doctrine that transwomen are women, you are shut down. We’ve endured years of suspensions and expulsions while leaders have failed to deliver promised reforms to our unfair and draconian disciplinary system. Yes, membership is at a record high, yes, we quadrupled our MPs, but these successes mask a deeper rot: countless potential supporters are alienated by the party’s refusal to follow the science of basic biology.”
He added:
“We want ordinary Greens attending Conference to come and speak with us outside, since we’re not allowed in. We ask that they hold the party to account for the authoritarian abuses we’ve endured. We hope they will help bring the party back to its roots of doing politics differently – openly, democratically, and fairly.”
John Hopes, expelled in 2025 after serving on the Policy Development Committee, highlighted the personal and organisational toll:
“The human cost of being forced into Exile is huge. When you dedicate your life to saving Nature and are then expelled without due process, it hurts. Many are stuck on so-called ‘no-fault suspensions’ for months or even years, with no resolution. At the same time, the party has lost decades of experience from committed Greens who worked tirelessly to elect councillors and deliver policy. And let’s not forget the financial cost – £1 million spent over four years on legal battles, discrimination cases and a court defeat. That’s almost 8% of the party’s income down the drain.”