Crunch Time For Zack Polanski As Greens Descend Into Chaos

Barely a year after taking charge, Zack Polanski faces his biggest challenge as Green Party leader.

The party is currently dealing with the international fallout after its members voted in favour of adopting a divisive motion declaring “Zionism is racism” at their conference in Brighton last Sunday.

Though four of the party’s five MPs publicly opposed the proposal, and even Polanski himself didn’t vote for it, the democratic nature of the Greens means it is now official party policy.

The proposal has already ostracised the Green Party of England and Wales, with the European Green Party among the organisations to condemn the move.

Meanwhile, Jewish groups are calling the motion outright “racist” and anti-semitic.

There are also serious question marks over whether or not the Greens could play any part at all in a Labour-led coalition in the event of a hung parliament.

Israel has also banned leader Polanski, who is Jewish, from ever entering the country, prompting the party to hit back by insisting it will not be “bullied” by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

So where was Polanski when Green Party members voted on the motion last Sunday?

He was fighting for his political life, door-knocking ahead of today’s Holborn and St Pancras by-election.

Currently a London Assembly member, the Green Party leader has taken a huge political gamble by deciding to run in Keir Starmer’s former seat, which Labour has held since it was formed in 1983.

There is no denying that Polanski has transformed his party over the last year, taking it from the fringes of British politics to the mainstream and quadrupling its membership.

In February, Hannah Spencer became the first Green MP to be elected at a by-election when she beat both Reform and Labour to win in Gorton and Denton.

But the Greens have been in steady decline in recent months, engulfed in rows over Polanski’s social media posts and criticism that the party is now too focused on left-wing politics rather than the environment.

Polanski’s decision to run in the by-election was already high-risk, but the timing of the crunch vote has put intense pressure on his leadership.

He even tried to change the date of the Greens’ conference moved so he could focus on his by-election campaign, only for the party’s executive body to reject his plea.

The “Zionism is racism” motion now threatens to throw his precarious bid to get into the Commons completely off-course.

If Polanski wins the seat, it will be an enormous boost for the party – and for his leadership.

But if he loses, it will be a devastating blow for his political ambitions and is sure to raise questions about whether or not he will face a leadership challenge.

Listen to this week’s Commons People as we unpack what’s on the line for the Green Party – and Polanski. 

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.