Zack Polanski has emphatically won the Green Party leadership with over 20,000 votes, compared to fewer than 4,000 for his rivals.
As readers here will know, I don't do party politics, and although Caroline Lucas has been a long-term friend of mine, for almost 20 years now, she never persuaded me to become a member of the Greens any more than other leaders of that party, including Jonathan Porritt and Natalie Bennett, both of whom I know, have ever done. So why comment on Zach Polanski's election when, as yet, we have never met, although that is scheduled to change sometime later this month?
That is because, in my opinion, Green Party members have shown an appetite for change in this election. They have, for some time, been dissatisfied with leadership that has not sought to rock the boat economically, politically, or even in many cases with regard to climate-related issues. The past policy might be summarised as “softly, softly, win the election, but don't upset the electorate.” This is not, as far as I can tell, what Zack Polanski is all about.
Zack is radical. He appears to be so economically. He is most certainly on the left politically. He is more than willing to be critical of Labour and Reform, although I hope he spends little time on the Tories, since they now appear to be something from the past. And, on climate, I strongly suspect that he is going to shout much more loudly than has been the case before about the need for radical action to address the failure to tackle climate change, which is now all too clearly the policy of Ed Miliband and the Labour Party, much to my disappointment.
I can also say, with certainty, that Zack knows what my economics are all about, because he has actively reTweeted them, for example, over quite a long period of time. Indeed, that is how I first became aware of him.
I cannot be sure as yet, but there is the prospect that he might be the first UK political party leader who not only really knows what Modern Monetary Theory is, but actually thinks it explains how the economy works. I am hoping so. If so, he really does represent a break from the past. Caroline Lucas always acknowledged MMT to me, privately, but never had the confidence in her ability to discuss economics to do so publicly. I am seriously hoping that the times are changing.
That is necessary.
This country needs radicalism.
It needs a left-of-centre political leader who has the courage to say what many people in this country believe.
Our planet needs someone to speak for it.
We need an economics which is soundly based, and which embraces the idea of care.
If Zack Polanski can deliver these things, then he is very good news.
If he is also willing to ask the Greens to work in cooperation with other left-of-centre parties to present viable platforms for election in the future, that is better still.
We know that Labour will not do these things. I sincerely hope that others who want to stand up against fascism will cooperate. Time will tell, but if we can build a narrative that shows that there is an alternative to the damage that Farage is deliberately creating, there might be just a glimmer of hope. I am allowing myself the luxury of thinking about that this afternoon.
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“New Green Party leader was hypnotherapist who claimed women could increase bra sizes with minds”
No prizes for guessing which newspaper is responsible for this headline. No chance of informing readers about who he is and what he stands for, then? But the Telegraph’s readers don’t want that, so the editor of that page has got that part of their job right.
You are right.
And the Telegraph would, of course, deny that hypnotherapy can have any medical role of any sort whatsoever, which a lot of rather wise medics would disagree with.
They would rather buy the Cartesian view that we are purely mechanical objects to be manipulated by a machine called neoliberal markets.
Yesterday I knew nothing about Zack Polanski or his political views. Today, I have learned nothing about him or his political views from the mainstream media. The only issue of concern apparently for such media is that at one point in the past he allegedly worked as a hypnotherapist helping women with boob size issues.
I have no idea even if that allegation is true or not, as the man has not been given an opportunity to either explain or further elucidate what such therapy entailed. Even when interviewed he was shouted over when he attempted to reply. Pathetic.
And the mainstream media wonder why trust in them is falling further and further.
And it was The S*n who did the original piece, baiting him into the whole thing according to him. At least the “journalist” suggested it actually worked X’0.
My prediction is that the amount of hit pieces, outright lies and deception will increase exponentially related to his popularity.
I was there at this screening. A charming man. Definitely worth a watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMWLkAGJpYA
“Finding the Money” at UCL’s Instituteof Innovation an Public Purpose. 3/10/24
There is no way that Polanski will get a fair hearing from the mainstream (right wing) media which has already written him off as a crank over his breasts claims and radical left on his economic views, despite their merits
The fear is Polanski will do for the Greens what Corbyn did for Labour: whip up a core ‘fan base’ but distance the rest of the electorate.
Wait and see.
And stop being so small-minded, if I might suggest so.
on the 16th you published a Compass survey of Labour Party members
92% of Labour members want water in public ownership.
91% back wealth taxes on the richest.
89% want a fair migration system rooted in our tradition of welcome.
84% say stop arms sales to Israel to work toward a lasting ceasefire.
84% want the two-child benefit cap scrapped to cut child poverty.
75% want no new oil and gas licences.
74% say MPs should not lose the whip for opposing bad laws.
66% back proportional representation.
That might might a place for Zac Polanski to start.
Indeed.
Much to agree with here. Polanski offers something different and he seems to have good communication and PR skills. He does seem to have a grasp of MMT and the role of tax so hopefully he can really help to bring these possibilities into the public realm where he will need a great deal of assistance as the MSM will try to ignore him and/or tear shreds off him. I was also wondered why Caroline Lucas did not appear to acknowledge MMT but she had a lot on her plate. If only we had a lot more politicians of her calibre.
I have just finished reading his Guardian column (I don’t know how to post a link) and it comes across to me well. I shall be following anything else he publishes in the mainstream media (I have no social media feeds / access by choice). I very much hope you are right to have some optimism!
Let me be clear: I will remain a commentator, but this is, I think, good news for the left of centre in England and Wales. Scotland does, of course, have a separate and distinct Green party.
it’s here
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/02/green-party-not-nigel-farage-zack-polanski
The FT’s commentariat aren’t impressed (see comments under the article)
https://www.ft.com/content/c72370ab-f30e-456c-a444-e49be40d5256
So what? Did you really think that a newspaper read by those who are the bastions of neoliberalism was going to jump up and down about the fact that somebody who is opposed to it now has the opportunity to lead a party that will win massive support for doing so? Seriously, why did you post this comment? What was your aim?
Not really they are regarded as a joke of a party by the majority of the electorate
They have a much longer history of success than Farage or Reform. You are deeply mistaken.
Their councillors don’t quit when they realise government is about more than arguing about flags.
🙂
Yes, a possibly cheering development. A good indicator will be if the Greens now manage to get the same amount of airtime as Farage.
I rejoined the Green Party precisely so I could vote for Zack as leader. There has been a dearth of hope in the political sphere over the last few years, and Zack promises to redress that. At the very least he will bump important and neglected issues, like inequality and climate change, right up the political agenda, whilst countering the cynical, divisive rhetoric of Reform.
Good news. When I saw the headline I immediately wanted to contact him (I don’t know him) and urge him to read your blog, but clearly he already does so.
Is this the real life equivalent of the end of Rogue One where the (CGI-created) Princess Leia says, when asked ‘what is this?’, replies ‘Hope!’?
These are dark times and you do feel the need for the equivalent of the big screen superhero/heroine.
Craig
P.S. Mind you, I don’t know who the real life Darth Vader is. At least, Uncle Darth had some good in him!!
Good one Craig.
The best one for me is from Andor… ‘Rebellions are built on hope.’
Am not sure who Vader is but Starmer is a good/bad emperor.
People are desperate right now… More rises in bills and the gov stay silent. 3 years ago uproar over rising bills, now we just shrug and just cancel any plans to go out for the day.
The want or expect us to be machine like. We are not thinking machines – we are feeling beings that think.
What concerns me and it is happening both with the Greens and Corbyn/Sultana ‘Your’ party is the extremely toxic Trans Rights debate that rather conveniently threatens to wreck both, and other progressive organisations and has caused division in Scotland.
I think that its certainly a serious issue and there are genuine issues on both sides but it is certainly convenient for some who do not share those views.
I support trans rights.
But, it cannot divert from everything else.
I met Zack about 5 or 6 years ago in the HoC café. This was before he was a London Assembly member. I was there at an MVM Quarterly Alliance meeting. We chatted one to one for a while over a cuppa…a really nice thoughtful guy.
I had an email exchange with him in April this year…about the local elections. He remembered our earlier meeting and was so kind and engaged with me …and he must’ve been crazy busy.
It appears that you’re lining up a meeting with him. That’s just got to be good…and yes he’s definitely got views that challenge the economics’ orthodoxy.
It’ll be so interesting to see how the Green Party develop as they vie with, or loosely join, the new Corbyn party to occupy the now all-but-void socialist part of the political spectrum.
He’s totally pro-PR of course. He told me though that it would not be front and centre of his campaigning. I totally get that.
Go Zack, Go!
IMO, one of the first things that the Green’s new leader should do is to try to persuade the party’s members to reverse the Green’s pro-NATO policy. Whilst I daresay that I would support most, if not all, of their other policies, as a socialist, I am definitely opposed to their pro-NATO policy. Why? Because NATO is not a defence organisation; it’s a US empire created and managed pro-war organisation that has carried out illegal coups and military invasions. It should have been closed down when the Warsaw Pact was closed down many years ago. It’s feasible that JC and ZS might share my views on this issue and, if so, that could delay, or even prevent, Your Party and the Green Party from forming some sort of co-operative electoral arrangement that many people, including me, would like to see. And maybe, in time, a merger of the Green Party and Your Party to become the Green Peace and Justice Party? But reverse that pro-NATO policy or the creation of a major new party that promotes peace, justice and the environment that almost everyone, apart from the mainstream media propagandised gullibles, will never happen
Noted.
NATO has outlived its days, IMO.
I’m not sure this would be important to most people. Before I retired as a civil servant, my colleagues and I discussed everything under the sun, but NATO never got a mention. Possibly not the highest priority.
When I saw he had won, I thought about time. We’ve now got a real Left wing party leader. Can’t believe that the BBC are saying the Greens have gone to the left. This sums their ignorance up really – how can a left wing party go to the left? I’m about to get abuse on the BBC for posting about their ridiculous reporting on the Bonds issue today and hope you don’t mind that I told people to come to your Blog to see the truth that we can’t go bankrupt or need to go to the IMF.
Thanks for making life ineresting, Richard
Thank you.
I write here as both possibly the oldest member of the Green Party and long active in publishing films about first pollution ( back in the 1970s) and then climate change. I have also, along with many other long serving members, been expelled from the Green Party. The reason basically is we do not accept that biological men can self dentify as transwomen and be treated in all aspects and everywhere as though they are biological women. Over a number of recent years the main committees of control in the Green Party have been taken over by young, intelligent mainly university students who accept this . In my opinion intelligence does not necessarily equate with wisdom. Zack Polanski makes no secret the fact that he believes there is no room in the party for people like me. There had been a big, well organised campaign to recruit people, specially young people even up to just before voting in the leadership election. He and his group do not accept the Cass Report. They do not accept the recent Supreme Court Ruling. In my opinion, which of course is biased by the disgusting treatment I, and many others have received from these recent power seekers in the party, is that amoung the wider population the party will decline in popularity as the weird ideas become more wellknown.
Noted.
I doubt this issue is going to help the Greens. Intransigence on it clearly will not. It has not helped the SNP or Greens in Scotland either.
Richard,
this is one of the issues that pulls me TOWARDS the Greens- Polanski’s willingness to forthrightly reject the persecution of a minority group. I will not list arguments in defence of trans people’s existence here though, as the debate can get toxic and I don’t think that this is the appropriate forum. Other reasons I am happy that Polanski has won are that finally there will be someone I hope who makes the case that our unequal economic system, not migrants, are the cause of poor living standards and also someone who will vocally call out the climate change deniers.
In other words I hope Polanski will do what the Labour Party should be doing- taking the fight to Farage. I am sceptical about his defence policy though, both in terms of principle and practical electoral policy.
He’s trying to get the MMT point over now, on Newsnight. Not sure Victoria Derbyshire is buying it though, she keeps retorting with the “markets will be spooked” line.
S, he will need to learn the response – no they won’t be, not if it delivers sustainable growth.
Well, at least he tried to explain MMT on Newsnight but it shows the struggle we are going have to get the idea across to the MSN https://x.com/BBCNewsnight/status/1963003102967001396
Accepted. But first she is tough (and knows of this blog; we do speak occasionally) and secondly he stuck to his message. Happy with that.
Just listened to his interview on the Fourcast podcast. It was refreshing and the first sign of hope that I have seen in many years. He attacked the household budget analysis but also attacked what he called the contrived migrant crisis. May be all is not lost.
I am a member of the Green Party and part of the finance and economic committee that has already removed one or two anomalies like positive money from GP policy and is proposing more. Hopefully ZP is on board with proposed changes. I hope to be able to ask him directly at the anti austerity conference next week
Thanks Keith. I know the committee is making progress.
Seeing Zak Polanski on NewsNight last night made me think about how we get MMT and similar ideas over to the general public, brainwashed as it is by false metaphors like the ‘household’ analogy. Zak has grasped this, as also the need to reverse ‘tax and then spend’ in the alternative narrative that he is seeking. But he stumbled over what he would do about ‘the rising cost of government borrowing’.
So I really hope you can help him when you meet. Far be it from me to dictate your approach, but what do you think about the following way in which I would attempt to help him set up a new narrative?
“Medieval society was run by God. This was an excellent arrangement. It meant that revolt was sacrilegious, and it also meant that ultimate responsibility for the gross inequalities of the day lay with someone rather hard for your average villein to pin down and even harder to influence. These two advantages have been much sought after by the rulers of our society, and they have had some success, though nothing so neat as the God solution,
The sacrilege is now against ‘fiscal responsibility’ (previously better known as ‘austerity’), but this advantage is not working as well as it used to, but the other advantage of finding ultimate responsibility, like God, apparently outside government control and located in ‘The Money Markets’, is much more successful.
So, who are these money markets that our government apparently has to borrow from before it can cure child poverty? Do they reside on Mars? Apparently not. In the IMF? Maybe once, but no longer. Who are they? Could they be people? Mainly rich British people or institutions, like pension funds? Even including you and me with a few of our savings with NS&I in Premium Bonds?
What is clear, is that to a large extent, the government does have a high measure of control over these people as they are, along with the rest of us, British citizens. With its ability to create money, government has nearly all the power it needs to ignore ‘the money markets.”
Hope that’s useful!
The Greens have some perverse policies. I never understood their long-standing opposition to HS2, which they finally reversed last year.
I have always opposed HS2.
It was designed to be a white elephant
I spent much of last summer travelling around Europe on high-speed trains – France, Germany, Spain, Italy, they all have high-speed rail and it was wonderful, a joy to experience, and the opposition to the same here has always baffled me
I don’t like the way much of the HS2 system was designed (terminal stations instead of through stations, and the chance to develop a new national rail network based on Birmingham, say, instead of London) – but the principle was good
Sunak has no right to take a unilateral decision to cancel the northern leg
Sorry – but if you did not like how HS2 was designed you did not like HS2. Principles cannot redeem it. It should never have got off the plan.
We need better infrastructure; we need investment in rail in particular.
Like anything else, HS2 was never going to be perfect, but the original scheme as designed, with western and eastern legs, would have been transformative and hopefully led to HS3, 4 and 5
As it stands it is now a glorified commuter line from Birmingham to London and will only drive further economic activity to the south east – a white elephant as you say
We did not need HS rail.
We needed rail that worked.
We have neither now.
I’ve just caught up with Zack’s interview last night on Newsnight. Some quotes:-
“Need to destroy the myth that the national economy is anything like a household budget.”
“We don’t need to tax and spend, we need to spend and tax.”
“We need to invest in our public services to make sure they are generating the economy”
“That will generate wealth for all of us”
“A fundamentally different way of looking at the economy”
“I’m less worried about the markets, I’m worried about the people sleeping homeless in the streets, I’m worried about the nurses, the porters, the caterers, the people I met today in the NHS who are not being paid a basic wage.”
“With markets it is a trust issue and they need bold story telling and they need people to show that leadership. We currently have a Labour leadership that is constantly worried about what the markets are going to do, as opposed to grabbing hold of the narrative and saying we’re going to invest in our public services. This is going to be good for the markets, but the point should never be the markets, it should be people, it should be the environment, about defending every citizen in this country.”
“We have a sovereign currency in this country, so the idea that we need to worry about what the markets do, first and foremost, is just a fundamental inaccuracy at the very beginning of this conversation.”
“We need to have a really nuanced conversation in this country about the national economy that breaks through the old myths.”
I am greatly encouraged.
Me too
He was also saying this on ‘Politics Live’ earlier today. In addition, yesterday he was on ‘World at One’, and during that interview he described Farage as ‘calling for Fascism’ in his recent press conference.
Strong stuff. One would wish that Labour were as clear and robust!
This Green Party Leader election strikes me as personality politics rather than anything substantial, where the leader of a “fringe party”, as described yesterday by a US congressman to Farage makes far more ‘noise’ than the ability or influence small parties can actually make to actual government policy.
When given the chance of a minority party to participate as in Scotland, with the tiny number Green Party SMP’s they muck it up and get ousted out of the power share.
No doubt he will appear on a few panel shows and fill in late night chatter creating the odd ‘five minute’ headline and a few column inches but at the end of the day, unless there is a radical change in how MP’s are selected the Greens and the rest of the fringe will just be voices off.
I think you’re on the wrong site if you think about what you call fringe politics that way.
Zack Polanski was on ‘Any Questions’ last night, and gave a good account of himself, very much in line with the content of this blog on economics etc.
I think he mis-spoke on the topic of party funding (although he was broadly on the right lines), but on the whole he did very well.
I was not fully engaged with listening, but it felt to me that if there had been a ‘Clapometer’* measuring the audience’s responses to the panelists in terms of applause, he might well have come out the winner.
*Showing my age! 🙁
🙂