A Warwickshire councillor who has been suspended from the Green Party for more than five months claims he is the victim of an "orchestrated" smear campaign to silence him.

Cllr Sam Jones, who has been serving on Warwickshire County Council and Warwick District Council as an independent since being handed the no-fault suspension in January, said he had been subjected to a "conform or get kicked" mantra from within Warwick District Green Party.

Neither Cllr Jones, his local group nor the national party was prepared to comment on the reasons for his suspension at the time but light was shed earlier this month when Cllr Jones, frustrated that the stalemate had seen him miss the June deadline to apply to stand as a Green in the 2027 local elections, took to social media.

In his TikTok video, Cllr Jones stated he had "heard no news" in relation to the national party's investigation into a "wave of complaints" that arrived "immediately following a pro-Palestine motion" that he took to the district council.

An 11-month battle

In an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Cllr Jones said there had been two complaints around that time – July 2025 – that "should have been combined into one" due to their similarities.

"They were kept separate so that one of the complainants on the one could sit as an adjudicator on the other," said Cllr Jones.

"When I brought up that conflict of interest I was assured that person would be capable of acting completely independently. The process went ahead and it found against me.

"I obviously appealed but it disappeared. Since then, I knew what was up in the local party and I wanted to change it.

"I wanted to be part of a party that was proud to be a green party and did not abuse processes to ensure that people who had different political ideologies were not ostracised from the party."

He said that finding came was reached by a three-member panel set up by and including then-chair John Deering.

Cllr Jones's TikTok video moved the story on to the build-up to Warwick District Green Party's annual general meeting (AGM) in January 2026.

Having declared his intention to stand as chair, Cllr Jones claims "a slander campaign was orchestrated" and that he was "threatened to stand down" if he didn't want complaints against him to be publicised.

"They brought in a new rule to ensure the complaint itself would be disclosed underneath my name on the ballot paper," he said.

"Then, just one working day before the AGM itself, I was informed I had been suspended from the Green Party of England and Wales at the request of some of those very same members."

Cllr Jones told the LDRS that elements of the complaint that led to his suspension had been "curated" into something "that definitely isn't reflective of the reality", including "the entire history of complaints that I didn't even know had been brought against me but had been dismissed" and reference to one Green councillor without their consent who "has since written me a character reference".

Despite contacting the national party "multiple times", Cllr Jones says his appeal has yet to be acknowledged by the national body. He was able to offer mitigation against his temporary suspension but it was upheld "by a split decision" pending the outcome of the investigation.

Asked whether he denies any wrongdoing, Cllr Jones said: "There are some small-level reflections I could make but I do not think there are any significant activities which have broken code of conduct or deserve the punishment or ostracising that I have been subjected to."

When asked, Cllr Jones said those reflections related to "private conversations".

The missed deadline – what next?

Cllr Jones said he had only found out about the deadline for 2027 candidates from one of "a fair few" party members who support him and that the district party had been "actively recruiting people" to stand in his ward without telling him.

"I have received a lot of support from people in the party who have expressed their frustration at the length of the process and their disgust at the behaviour of some senior members of the local party," he said.

Cllr Jones declined to name them, believing it could "compromise the confidentiality of the complaints process", but said the problems had emanated from "long-standing members" who "subdue any discussion about major national party policy positions".

"Once you get to my level as a councillor, you either conform or get kicked," he said.

"If you're a person who joins the Green Party in Warwick district because you support national party policies, expect to face fierce opposition from senior members."

Perhaps surprisingly, Cllr Jones stopped short of discouraging membership and said he would remain with the party if permitted to.

When asked, he expressed hope that national figures would intervene to allow him to stand as a Green in 2027 "once my name is cleared". He confirmed he would not seek election through another major political party but that it was too soon to say whether he would stand as a Green, an independent or not at all.

The Green response

The national party has yet to respond and Councillor Jonathan Chilvers (Leamington Brunswick), leader of the Green group at the county council and a cabinet member at district level, declined to comment on the candidacy deadline or field questions on Cllr Jones's allegations and version of events.

A district party statement read: "Warwick District Green Party has worked hard over many years as we grow to build and maintain a positive culture that values kindness, listening carefully, disagreeing well, working together, respecting each other and getting things done. We will continue to build that culture.

"It would not be fair or appropriate to comment publicly on a national Green Party investigation and process, apart from to reiterate that the national Green Party put in place a no-fault suspension whilst that investigation occurs."

It added that the local party works "every day" to implement national party "principles", citing the district council's retrofitting programme, attempts to protect the county's youth services and notably "supporting local action on justice for Palestinians" among its examples.