What is “Zackonomics”? Later today, the Green Party leader Zack Polanski will attempt to define it. His economic pitch so far has centred on familiar themes – tackling inequality and taxing wealth – but detail has been limited. This speech is intended to change that.
Speaking in north London to mark the 40th anniversary of the New Economics Foundation, Polanski will set out his vision in his first major economic address since becoming leader in September 2025. He will frame it around a pledge to “end rip-off Britain”.
The speech is structured in three parts. The first offers a diagnosis of the UK’s economic malaise, tracing it through Thatcher-era reforms, privatisation, austerity and Brexit. The second sets out the Green Party’s proposed remedies, with a renewed emphasis on the cost of living and on reforming the tax system to make it more progressive.
Polanski is also expected to address the UK’s fiscal framework. Echoing arguments made by Andy Burnham in the New Statesman last year, he will argue that Britain has become overly constrained by financial markets and will propose reforms aimed at breaking what he calls a “bond market doom loop”.
He and his advisers originally aimed for this speech to focus on these two parts: the problem and the solution. But a third has been added in response to the recent oil crisis sparked by the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Polanski will use this third part to explore how the Green Party will lower energy bills and make the UK economy more resilient. He will say: “We need to end rip-off Britain, pay people properly for their hard work, and give people a real plan for a better country.”
The speech also reflects a shift in how the Green Party develops policy. Its platform is formally set by members at conference, but Polanski has taken a more prominent role in shaping how those policies are presented and prioritised. As the party’s electoral support has grown, so too has the pressure to project coherence and credibility.
Recent electoral advances have reinforced that shift. Following the by-election victory in Gorton and Denton in February, and with more elections on the horizon, the Greens are increasingly treated as a serious political force rather than a fringe protest party. That evolution is not without internal tension: some members remain wary of any move that appears to hollow out the party’s democratic core.
Allies of Polanski insist the speech does not alter party policy, but instead sets out how a Green government would seek to implement it. In preparation, he has consulted a number of prominent economists, including Joseph Stiglitz, Mariana Mazzucato, Gabriel Zucman and Ann Pettifor. Discussions have focused in part on the feasibility of policies such as a wealth tax.
If Polanski is serious about positioning the Greens as the principal party of the left, he will face greater scrutiny of his economic plans. This speech is therefore an early test: not just of Polanski’s economic argument, but of whether “Zackonomics” can win over the sceptics.
[Further reading: Will Nato split the Green Party?]
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