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Zack Polanski

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Latest Zack Polanski articles

The Greens may yet win in Holborn and St Pancras – but what happened to the party set to ‘replace’ Labour? | Andy Beckett

The Greens may yet win in Holborn and St Pancras – but what happened to the party set to ‘replace’ Labour? | Andy Beckett

On the eve of the byelection, Polanski’s pledge is to keep the government ‘in check’. It may not be enough to stop a drift back to the political margins Only a few months ago, in the spring, there was a sense of giddy possibility about the Greens. Zack Polanski’s radical new leadership felt fresh and dynamic, especially compared with those of the other parties. Former Labour supporters, in particular, were switching to the Greens in huge numbers , Green candidates were winning across the country , and the party was second behind Reform UK in some national polls. Like Reform, the Green party presented itself as a revolt against a failed status quo. Unlike Reform, the Greens’ urgent stance on the climate crisis gave them a potent moral authority: even many people who did not support them believed that the Greens were right about the most universal issue. Andy Beckett is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...

HolbornThe GuardianZack Polanski
Oct 7, 2026 · byThe Guardian
Zack Polanski had the chance to show real leadership. He blew it | Rafael Behr

Zack Polanski had the chance to show real leadership. He blew it | Rafael Behr

A toxic debate over anti-Zionism leaves the Green leader looking like a passenger in the movement that carried him to the top When Donald Trump calls someone a socialist he is not using the word in the same way that, say, Zohran Mamdani does. The mayor of New York espouses democratic socialism as a mission of equitable distribution of wealth and opportunity. The US president says socialism only pretends to be democratic “because it sounds so nice”; that “it’s really communism you’re talking about” and that people such as Mamdani pose “the biggest threat to our nation … since its founding”. People who despise an idea, seeing it as the manifestation of everything wicked, cannot be expected to define it accurately. As with the radical right and socialism, so it is with the left and Zionism. Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Donald TrumpNueva YorkThe Guardian
Oct 7, 2026 · byThe Guardian
The Guardian view on the Green party and Palestine: rejecting two states is no shortcut to peace | Editorial

The Guardian view on the Green party and Palestine: rejecting two states is no shortcut to peace | Editorial

Zack Polanski must defend Palestinian freedom while reassuring Jewish members and showing that his party can handle disagreements Last year, the UN general assembly endorsed the New York Declaration supporting two states in the Holy Land by 142 votes to 10. Those voting against included the US and Israel. The wider international diplomatic consensus rests on a 2002 UN security council resolution , which explicitly affirmed a two-state vision for Israel and Palestine. Saudi Arabia’s then crown prince said peace required “two equal parties” and could not survive “oppression and humiliation”. His words remain as relevant now as then. The Green party has now rejected that two-state framework in favour of a one-state solution. The Guardian strongly disagrees with this move. Peace needs to acknowledge reality: the latest polls in Gaza and the West Bank suggest that a majority support a two-state formula based on the 1967 borders compared with just 10% who back a single democratic state with equal rights. The European Greens also disagree with the new direction of their English and Welsh sister party. The EU-wide representatives argue that the policy is incompatible with previously agreed positions. Europe’s Greens – which include the centrist German party – condemn “the genocide against Palestinians” and call for sanctions against Israel’s government. Continue reading...

Arabia SauditaGazaIsrael
Oct 6, 2026 · byThe Guardian
Green party of England and Wales facing ostracism over ‘Zionism is racism’ vote

Green party of England and Wales facing ostracism over ‘Zionism is racism’ vote

European Green party says motion goes against its policy, with German Green co-leader calling it ‘intolerable and unacceptable’ Zack Polanski may rue lack of leadership when Greens needed him to act The English and Welsh Greens are facing international ostracism after adopting a policy declaring Zionism as a form of racism, which has drawn dismay from the group representing European Greens. The co-leader of the German Greens separately said the policy was “intolerable and unacceptable”, running contrary to its belief in the right of Israel to exist. Continue reading...

EnglandIsraelZack Polanski
Oct 5, 2026 · byThe Guardian
Zack Polanski may regret not using his influence when Greens needed him to act

Zack Polanski may regret not using his influence when Greens needed him to act

Party’s leader was absent when members voted to adopt policy stating that Zionism was a type of racism Shortly after the Greens’ triumph in February’s Gorton and Denton byelection , with the party polling above 20%, Zack Polanski seemed as if he might be taking the party into a new era. Now, some members fear he has led them off an electoral cliff. It is not Polanski’s direct responsibility that the English and Welsh Greens are saddled with an official policy stating that Zionism, the movement for a Jewish state, is a type of racism, and that Israel should be replaced by a Palestinian state. The party is a direct democracy, and the members decide. Continue reading...

DentonIsraelZack Polanski
Oct 5, 2026 · byThe Guardian
What is Zionism and why do some critics describe it as racist?

What is Zionism and why do some critics describe it as racist?

Green party debate over the motion ‘Zionism is racism’ comes amid renewed arguments over the meaning and history of a contested term Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green party, has said he is an anti-Zionist . As his party conference prepares to debate a motion that “Zionism is racism”, what precisely is Zionism and what is the history of the claim that it is racist? Continue reading...

Zack Polanski
Oct 3, 2026 · byThe Guardian
At Brighton, Polanski raised his arms in triumph. It felt more like a wave goodbye

At Brighton, Polanski raised his arms in triumph. It felt more like a wave goodbye

The Greens’ leader seems long on agitprop but short on ideas – and one byelection away from losing his job The Chronicle of a Death Foretold. It must be weird to realise that you have in effect made yourself obsolete inside a year. Worse, that you have actively accelerated your demise. Even AI doesn’t work at that speed. But that’s precisely what it looks as if Zack Polanski has done. Maybe he should just look on the bright side. He’s managed eight Liz Trusses. Not to be sneezed at. Polanski is partly a victim of his own success. A cautionary tale of being careful what you wish for. Like Nigel Farage, the leader of the Green party was one of Keir Starmer’s fiercest critics. Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting excepted. Keir wasn’t radical enough. Did not care enough about Gaza. Was too dull. And under Zack’s leadership, voters swarmed from Labour to the Greens. The party climbed to a record high of 18% in the polls and won the Gorton and Denton byelection against the staggeringly dim Matt Goodwin. Continue reading...

Zack Polanskicritical
Andy BurnhamBrightonDenton
Oct 2, 2026 · byThe Guardian
Polanski says he doesn’t need to win ‘50/50’ byelection to stay Green leader

Polanski says he doesn’t need to win ‘50/50’ byelection to stay Green leader

Head of party in England and Wales says vote in Keir Starmer’s old seat is ‘high stakes for people in Holborn and St Pancras, and for the climate crisis’ Zack Polanski has insisted his authority as leader of the Green party of England and Wales does not depend on winning next week’s Holborn and St Pancras byelection, amid suggestions that the party’s popularity has peaked. Polanski, who is trying to take Keir Starmer’s former seat from Labour, described the contest as “probably 50/50 right now” and “really on a knife edge”. Continue reading...

Zack Polanskineutral
EnglandHolbornKeir Starmer
Oct 2, 2026 · byThe Guardian
Badenoch claims Labour is preparing for a general election in May 2027 – UK politics live

Badenoch claims Labour is preparing for a general election in May 2027 – UK politics live

Speculation about an early election continue to persist even as Andy Burnham ruled it out Hello and welcome to the UK politics live blog. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch says Labour is preparing for a general election as early as May 2027, despite the prime minister ruling out an early contest. All the policies he announced are for after an election. So if he’s not calling an election, why is he talking about things happening in 2030? He says a lot of things with a smile but I actually think that he’s got very different plans for us and for our country. This is an era of political volatility and multi-party politics. When an election is called and I do think Andy Burnham is going to call an election sooner than he is saying. Zack Polanski is expected to call for a triple lock-style guarantee for private renters in his keynote speech at the Green party’s annual conference this afternoon, to ease young adults’ housing costs. Nigel Farage has claimed that Andy Burnham has given him “the biggest boost in my career” by reviving the Brexit debate, which the Reform UK leader said had reopened a “huge flank” to his party. Prisoners have thanked Andy Burnham as they celebrated walking free from jail early. The turmoil in global bond markets has intensified amid fears the US deficit is reaching unsustainable levels, helping drive UK long-term borrowing costs to a 28-year high. Downing Street has clarifed that Andy Burnham is not siding with Manchester City in its finance scandal dispute with the Premier League – after in an interview yesterday he implied he was. Continue reading...

Kemi Badenochneutral
Andy BurnhamBrexitKemi Badenoch
Oct 2, 2026 · byThe Guardian
Polanski heckled at Jewish community hustings after saying that Zionism is a form of racism – UK politics live

Polanski heckled at Jewish community hustings after saying that Zionism is a form of racism – UK politics live

The Green leader, who is Jewish, made the remarks as part of his campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection Morning, and welcome to our UK politics live blog. Zack Polanski declared himself an anti-Zionist and faced heckling at a Jewish community hustings in Holborn and St Pancras , where the Green party leader is standing as a candidate in next month’s byelection. A Green official said that many activists loyal to the party’s leadership might not be at the autumn conference because it takes place a week before voting in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, in which Polanski hopes to take Keir Starmer’s old seat from Labour, potentially leaving more scope for others to push through the motion. “The risk is that if it passes as it is we are alienating ourselves from the Jewish community in the UK, a lot of whom are not big fans of the current Israeli government,” a Green source said. Continue reading...

HolbornKeir StarmerZack Polanski
Sep 25, 2026 · byThe Guardian
‘Watermelons’: Zack Polanski and the rise of the ‘green outside, red inside’ eco-populists

‘Watermelons’: Zack Polanski and the rise of the ‘green outside, red inside’ eco-populists

Author Russell Warfield argues the Green leader’s brand of politics is not new but has evolved in the party over time Watermelons: the term used to describe the members of the Green party of England and Wales who are green on the outside and red on the inside. People in this faction are environmentalists, but when you cut them open, they bleed socialist ideologies. Of the roughly 160,000 people that have flocked to the party since Zack Polanski became leader last year, most are thought to be in this camp, drawn to a political space on the left that they see as vacated by the Labour party. Continue reading...

Zack PolanskiȚara Galilor
Sep 23, 2026 · byThe Guardian
It’s easy to ignore the Lib Dems, but they could soon hold the balance of power | Rafael Behr

It’s easy to ignore the Lib Dems, but they could soon hold the balance of power | Rafael Behr

Ed Davey’s strategy is meant to build a ‘firewall’ of MPs to prevent Reform UK entering government. The stakes are high if he gets it wrong No politician craves obscurity, but it is better to be unknown than despised. That is consolation for Liberal Democrats, gathered in Brighton for their annual conference, fretting about Ed Davey’s low profile and wondering whether a more prominent leader would hoist their flagging poll ratings. Renewal by decapitation is a concept that has succeeded twice this parliament for other parties. Labour’s fortunes were transformed when Andy Burnham entered No 10. The Greens enjoyed a polling surge last year when Zack Polanski was elected leader. In the fidgety culture of British politics, Davey’s six-year reign feels like an aeon . But the experience of other parties has little to teach the Lib Dems. Continue reading...

Andy BurnhamBrightonEd Davey
Sep 23, 2026 · byThe Guardian
Polanski request to postpone Greens’ conference to focus on byelection refused by party

Polanski request to postpone Greens’ conference to focus on byelection refused by party

Exclusive: Leader understood to have wanted to concentrate on Holborn and St Pancras campaign in London but executive committee voted against plan Zack Polanski requested that the Greens’ ruling executive committee postpone the party’s imminent annual conference so they could focus on the Holborn and St Pancras byelection but was refused. While party officials say the formal request came from staffers worried about diluting resources by staging a conference a week before Polanski tries to win Keir Starmer’s former Commons seat, the Guardian understands the party leader wanted this to happen. Continue reading...

HolbornKeir StarmerLondon
Sep 18, 2026 · byThe Guardian
Greens urge Zack Polanski to take stance on proposed policy declaring ‘Zionism is racism’

Greens urge Zack Polanski to take stance on proposed policy declaring ‘Zionism is racism’

Exclusive: The Green leader has not spoken publicly about the motion, which is likely to be debated at the party’s conference in October The Greens are pushing Zack Polanski to take a stance on a potential party policy stating “Zionism is racism”, with some fearing it could alienate Jewish supporters if it was passed. Polanski, who leads the Greens in England and Wales, has not spoken publicly about the motion, which came top of a members’ vote of policy motions to be debated at the party conference in Brighton at the start of October, and is thus almost certain to feature. Continue reading...

BrightonEnglandZack Polanski
Sep 17, 2026 · byThe Guardian