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THE Green Party is facing allegations of racial discrimination by its own elected equality and diversity officer.
Rashid Nix, who was elected onto the Green Party executive committee as its equality and diversity co-ordinator earlier this year, claims that he was not considered for a paid role in the party in June because of his race.
He insists that his experience as a Green candidate in national and local elections in 2015 and 2016 made him qualified for the role of campaigns manager, but he was rejected without being shortlisted.
Mr Nix told the Morning Star that he will take the case to an employment tribunal if talks with the party brokered by arbritration service Acas fail to reach a resolution.
A Green Party spokesperson said that it currently has no active cases with Acas.
Speaking about his experience as a BAME member of the party, Mr Nix said: “They are happy for us to run up and down the campaign trail … but every time a paid job comes up that I can do, I am not considered.”
The allegations follow comments made by Green co-leader Jonathan Bartley in which he said he would personally want to ban Halal meat.
Green MEP and former Sheffield lord mayor Magid Magid told the Star that he was “shocked and disappointed” by Mr Bartley “spouting Islamophobic rhetoric that I’d expect to see from far-right groups.”
The co-leader has since apologised for the comments. But Mr Magid, who is also a member of Greens of Colour, stressed that a public statement clarifying that banning Halal is not party policy must be released.
The MEP said that the party “has a long way to go on diversity” but said that the Greens “have amazing policies for people of colour.”
A party spokesperson said: “The Green Party actively seeks opportunities to be more inclusive and increase diversity across the party.
“For example, we are reviewing our membership strategies to increase BAME representation and have set up a fund to assist more people of colour to stand in elections.”
In the 2015 general election, the party was called out for standing fewer BAME candidates than Ukip.
