Herefordshire Green group leader suspended from the Party over strong views on gender
Councillor Diana Toynbee has led the Green group since her predecessor Ellie Chowns was elected as MP for North Herefordshire in July last year
The leader of Herefordshire’s Green group of councillors has been banned from the party for “at least six months” over her outspoken views on gender.
Councillor Diana Toynbee has led the nine-strong group since her predecessor Ellie Chowns was elected as MP for North Herefordshire in July last year.
Councillor Toynbee stood unsuccessfully for the Greens in the neighbouring Hereford & South Herefordshire seat at the same time.
But she has now been banned from serving as a Green councillor “for at least six months”, she said today (November 28) in a statement.
“The central party establishment has ruled that I must be punished for my views on gender and safeguarding, and this is the painful culmination of years of intimidation,” she said.
She will now join the Independents for Herefordshire (i4H) group on the council, “with whom I share values of freedom of expression and independent-mindedness”, she added.
Coun Toynbee has been outspoken, particularly on Twitter, now X, on what she sees as the compromising of women’s rights to the trans agenda.
This became one of the issues in the party’s recent election leadership, in which Dr Chowns and candidate co-leader Adrian Ramsay, were heavily defeated by the more outspokenly pro-trans Zack Polanski.
“As a councillor it is very important that I can speak freely about matters of concern to residents, including women’s rights and child safeguarding,” Coun Toynbee said.
“It’s shocking that this has triggered disciplinary action from the Green Party, but I will always put the wellbeing of local people above chanting political slogans.”
She said she had been “touched by the huge amount of support I receive from people from all backgrounds and views, who want politicians with minds of their own who don’t pretend to believe things they don’t believe”.
“My priority has not changed – to serve the people and nature of Herefordshire,” she added.
“I look forward to continuing this work within the Independent group, whose welcome I much appreciate.”
This leaves both the Greens and i4H with eight councillors apiece.
The two groups have long been political bedfellows and jointly ran the council until the last elections in May 2023.
Since then the Conservatives have run the county as a minority with 20 councillors, while the Liberal Democrats have 12.
The Green Party and Ellie Chowns MP were approached for comment.