Even the mother of a new Green Party MP says the party is now full of 'less than nice people' - as new councillors threaten to quit over 'racism'

By SOPHIE CHURCH - POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 00:34, 20 August 2026 | Updated: 00:34, 20 August 2026 The mother of a Green Party MP has claimed the Greens have welcomed 'less than nice people' through the door by shunning their eco-roots. In a dramatic intervention, Liz Spencer, the mum of recently elected Green MP Hannah Spencer and herself a Green member, said of the party in its current guise: 'It's not what the Green Party used to be; nice people who wore hemp shoes. 'That opened the door for lots of less-than-nice people to enter. And no one was primed for it.' Ms Spencer first joined the Green Party when it was called the Ecology Party, and unsuccessfully stood in the 2017 and 2019 Bolton North East general elections for the Greens. But she claimed that a deepening divide within the Bolton branch – with more traditional Greens focussed on the environment on one side and its four newly elected councillors on the other – is making the party a 'laughing stock' in local politics. She said: 'The Green Party has a set of values; environmental stuff that leads onto social justice stuff', but that 'now, we are a laughing stock in local politics.' She added that 'the atmosphere of paranoia is huge' and that 'nobody trusts anybody'. The mother of a Green Party MP has claimed the Greens have welcomed 'less than nice people' through the door by shunning their eco-roots The Greens saw three more councillors – Baggy Khan, Zan Arif and Ismail Ibrahim – elected to Bolton Council at this year's local elections (Baggy Khan pictured) Ms Spencer told the Manchester Mill, which first reported her comments, that the party would now likely expel her after her intervention. This comes as the Greens saw three more councillors – Baggy Khan, Zan Arif and Ismail Ibrahim – elected to Bolton Council at this year's local elections. They joined the leader of the Greens on Bolton Council, Hanif Alli, who was elected in 2024. But an internal row has broken out with some Greens claiming the new councillors do not align with the party's values. Helena Carman, who ran for the Greens in May's local elections, claimed that Mr Alli is 'not Green'. She said: 'I will stand on rooftops and shout 'that man is not Green!' and added: 'He walks around as if he is, but he is truly not.' All four Green councillors on Bolton council have now threatened to resign over allegations of 'racism' by its older members. Mr Alli claimed there is a 'core 'white' group who have now become a 'dab hand' at orchestrated abuse and press leaks' – and branded the more traditional Bolton Greens 'racists'. He added: 'In all my years of being involved in politics, I have never seen such well organised/coordinated en masse racism by a group of people who are in my opinion drunk on a short taste of political power and in their quest to rid the [Bolton Green Party] of any people of colour or tarnish them at any cost to the Green Party and its values.' Commenting on the disunity in the Bolton Greens, a Conservative source, said: 'Hannah Spencer's mum is right. Under Zack Polanski's leadership the Green Party have turned in on themselves and are now turning on each other. 'It just shows how unserious they are about the big issues facing the country.' And Darren Johnson, a former Green Party councillor and London Assembly member who defected to Labour this year, told the Mail: 'While I think the Green Party's membership did need to become more diverse, beyond the old hemp-wearing hippies, by re-inventing themselves as a hard-left populist party they've completely lost sight of their values and allowed some rather unpleasant people to join who have no real interest in the Green agenda.' A Labour spokesperson added: 'While the Greens are busy fighting among themselves, Labour is focused on delivering for people across Greater Manchester. 'This extraordinary infighting shows what happens when a protest party is suddenly expected to take responsibility. The Greens can barely manage their own party without descending into chaos — voters will rightly ask how they could ever be trusted to run vital local services. 'People deserve serious, competent leadership focused on their priorities, not a Green Party consumed by internal rows and dysfunction.' A spokesperson for the Green Party said: 'We do not comment on internal matters. We are continuing to support our councillors and members in Bolton.'