Message from Zoe Hatch to Green Party Members

Dear  .....,

I received notification today that Joe Hudson-Small, Melanie Earp and John Macefield have voted to suspend me from the party for the email I sent to you on 13th October titled Green Party Women under attack. These named individuals are the ‘on call’ members of GPRC who are supposed to protect the party from the most egregious threats to its reputation. My alleged offence was to send an email talking about how Green Party Women are under attack. The attack on Green Party Women has now been made more clear than ever before, for that at least we perhaps owe them a debt of gratitude. The fervent behaviour of the zealots within the party who are intent on silencing women are the ones bringing the party into disrepute - and it has got to stop. NOW.

As members are aware I am leading the GPW project to compile a dossier of evidence for the EHRC detailing discrimination and detriment towards women on the basis of their Gender Critical (GC) views. Being put on NFS has the intention of denying me access to any of the benefits of party membership and consequently silencing my voice.

Unlawful behaviour
Members of GPRC have clearly gone rogue and are acting unlawfully here. Instead of looking after the wellbeing of the party, as they are tasked to do, they are instead directly flouting the legal advice given to them by their own solicitors. This advice clearly defines the offence of victimisation as sanctioning or treating someone badly who has whistleblown regarding discrimination. According to the Equality Act 2010 this is against the law.

Legal Advice
You can read the full legal advice from Bates Wells solicitors here. In my view this information should be sent to all members and I urge you now to send it to your local party officers before further wrongdoing occurs. It is not an offence to share legal advice with your colleagues. Indeed, this advice could be the only thing that saves the party from further legal costs, financial ruin and resultant collapse.

GPRC ‘authority’ is not recognised
I have today written to Jon Nott as Chair of GPEX advising him that it is GPRC and the on-calls who are breaking the law. As such, I do not recognise the authority of the so-called No Fault Suspension. I will be remaining in post as GPW Co-Chair and will continue to host meetings and events until the end of my term of office. 

GPRC want to bring down Green Party Women
It has been clear for some time that GPRC are keen to close down Green Party Women. In April and June this year GPRC held two emergency meetings to try to have the GC members of GPRC expelled from the party. You can read more about that sorry saga here. It was only the heroic efforts of Martha James and others that prevented this from happening. Now Martha has stepped down as GPRC Co-Chair citing her reason that “GPRC is not working as it should”. Personally I think Martha massively understates the corrupt practices she and others have witnessed. Now she has stepped aside it is becoming clearer for all to see.

In the email I wrote to you last week I said I was taking legal advice, that is because we received yet another email from a large number of people who yet again claimed that we were transphobic for advocating for women’s rights to safety, fairness and dignity on the basis of our sex. They were calling for an EGM to get rid of us.

Organised attack in summary
In total now, there have been 8 complaints made against the GC members of GPW. 5 have come from Chesca Walton, all calling for us to be expelled from the party. GPRC have had at least 2 emergency meetings to try to suspend us, SOC have been asked to rule against us as unconstitutional, SOC facilitated a rogue report going out against us, allowed a defamatory attack against us to go unchecked at the AGM and then prevented us from speaking in our defence at the GPEW conference, all in an effort to publicly humiliate us. Members have been galvanised to engage in a transphobia smear campaign that seeks to shut us down. When we finally speak up about this, after months of what feels like being in a deeply abusive relationship, the party decides to try and silence us to stop YOU the membership from knowing what is going on.

This is, of course, also an attempt to silence the women from the Green Women's Declaration who will be giving their presentation and Q&A to Green Party Women on Thursday evening - an event which I am scheduled to chair.

I am happy to report to you that I am YOUR Green Party Women Co-Chair. There is nothing that can be done to silence me and my fellow GC members.

The days of bullying and silencing women in this party are behind us. We stand strong and we stand together. We do not recognise the authority of this GPRC NFS and we will continue.

Warmly yours,

Zoe Hatch
Green Party Women Co-Chair.

P.S. There is every chance that this is the last email I will be able to send to you via Action Network. If you would like to be kept up to date with developments in the party PLEASE sign up to the Green Women’s Declaration mailing list linked here. You do not have to be a signatory to join the mailing list and your details will be kept confidential.