Zack Polanski’s entrance into the Green Party conference hall ahead of his leader’s speech was more that of a sold-out rockstar than small party leader. Just over a month after he was elected, Polanski jogged down the aisle towards the stage in Bournemouth International Conference Centre’s conference hall before kissing his partner Richie and dashing up to his lectern to rapturous applause. This marks the end of Polanski’s victory lap. And as a former actor he is, after all, au fait with showbiz.
This has been a tricky 24 hours for Polanski. The horrific terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester yesterday has overshadowed his first conference as leader, leaving the party’s views on the Middle East under more scrutiny than ever before. As a Jewish man from Manchester, Polanski has shared his deep disgust at what has happened and sympathy for the victims and their families. “I’m one of five Jewish people to lead a British political party in the last 100 years,” he told delegates, “I feel this deeply and my heart is with the community.”
But despite his own personal connection to this terrible tragedy, whether rightly or wrongly, the nature of the past 24 hours has cast a different light over some of the party’s politics. On the Today programme this morning, Polanski was scrutinised by Justin Webb over comments previously made by Mothin Ali, the party’s deputy leader. In a now deleted post Ali described Rabbi Zecharia Deutsch, a rabbi in Leeds, who had been called up as a reservist for the Israeli Defence Forces, as an “animal” and a “creep”. Ali has since apologised.
Polanski distanced himself from Ali’s comments this morning, but in his conference address he threw a shield around his deputy leader. Pointing out the diversity of the Greens leadership team, Polanski said: “Mothin, son of a steelworker, whose parents came from what is now Bangladesh in the 60s. Rachel who, apart from a Danish great grandad and a Welsh Grandma, has family roots tied to England as far back as she knows… A leadership with three different backstories, in a country enriched by people from all over the world.” Still, with Ali’s speech scheduled to take place tomorrow, the party has likely not seen the last of this issue yet.
Yet, Polanski does not seem to have been phased by this tricky moment for his party. He used his typically pugnacious style to lay out his vision for Britain: one which involves lower bills, clean power, a wealth tax, publicly owned utilities, legalised drugs and an end to “rip-off Britain”. This is the “eco-populism” he has always talked about but now it has broadened, to appeal to voters across the country and not simply Green Party members. Since Polanski was elected, party membership has breached 80,000. It clearly hopes to win over more.
Landing three days after Keir Starmer’s conference address, Polanski’s speech was clearly intended as something of a response to the Prime Minister. Like Starmer he talked about migration, patriotism and Farage. But he was keen to make clear that, unlike the Labour leader, the Green Party does not hope to win over voters who may be considering voting Reform. (Polanski’s attack on Farage, describing him as a “Trump loving, tax avoiding, science-denying, NHS dismantling corporate stooge” won him his longest standing ovation). “I am the product of migration,” Polanski said, “we will say it loud, and we will say it clear, migrants and refugees are “welcome here”. He added: “The Prime Minister might call this an island of strangers. When Farage says jump, Labour might say ‘how high’”.
Here is the crux of Polanski’s mission. As Starmer looks to take on Reform, Polanski is positioning his Green Party to fill the gap left on Labour’s left. He used his speech to pinpoint several of the parties’ targets. The May 2026 elections provide a clear opportunity for the party. In Hackney – where Labour has held the mayoralty for more than a decade – the Greens are hoping to win with their candidate, London Assembly member Zoe Garbet, was name-dropped by Polanski in his speech. In Wales, where Labour has been in power for more than 100 years, the Greens hope to improve their standing in the Senedd. Indeed, the most recent polling suggests the party could end up holding the balance of power and end up helping Plaid Cymru to form the next Welsh government. “We are here, and we are ready to win,” Polanski said.
This speech marks the start of Polanski’s mission to transform the Green Party and its electoral prospects. But sometimes even the best of intentions and cleverest of strategies cannot account for unexpected events. Polanski and the Greens are certainly running on a high. But how long will this honeymoon period last?
[Further reading: Grief, fear and spectacle: On the ground after the Yom Kippur killings]
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