Zack Polanski: The Green Party Leader Emerging as Britain’s New Political Star

Zack Polanski, the 43-year-old leader of the UK Green Party, describes himself as an 'eco-populist' and is emerging as a progressive alternative to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. In the local elections taking place on 7 May, more than 5,000 council seats across 136 areas, including London and other major cities, are up for election.

According to polling group YouGov, the Greens are forecast to win many seats in the capital, potentially topping the polls in eight of London’s 32 borough councils. Since Polanski won the leadership by a landslide in September last year, the party’s support has steadily risen. In February, the Greens won a historic by-election for the first time in a general election constituency, seizing control of the Gorton and Denton area in Greater Manchester – a seat Labour had held for nearly a century.

Polanski is widely seen by observers as a media-savvy representative with a green-socialist vision that inspires younger generations, much like New York’s new Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Professor Tim Bale of Queen Mary University London noted that under Polanski, the Greens have 'shifted further left, prioritising Palestine over environmental focus as before.' He said: 'The rise in support is partly due to Polanski’s communication skills, partly due to the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and left-wing voters’ frustration with Starmer’s tough immigration policies.'

If polls are correct, this local election could cement the Green Party’s role as an alternative to Labour – a party historically tied to the British working class.

Who is Zack Polanski?

Polanski, born David Paulden, grew up in a Jewish community in Salford, Greater Manchester. At 18, he changed his name to Polanski – the original form of his family name – to acknowledge his Jewish heritage. He studied drama at Aberystwyth University in Wales, worked as a community theatre actor, then moved into hypnotherapy and mental health counselling.

Polanski is openly gay and ‘proudly vegan’. His political career began with the Liberal Democrats as a councillor in North London in 2015. In 2017, he joined the Green Party, was elected to the London Assembly in 2021, and became deputy leader in 2022. Last September, he won the leadership by a landslide with 20,411 votes (against 3,705 for rivals Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns).

Key positions

Polanski pledges to ‘work every day to deliver environmental, social, racial and economic justice’. He advocates ‘eco-populism’ – combining environmental policy with socialism: taxing billionaires’ wealth, boosting workers’ rights, and a minimum wage of £15 ($20.41) per hour for all ages.

In the podcast ‘The Rest Is Politics’ in November 2024, Polanski argued that the term ‘populist’ must be reclaimed from the far right. He said: ‘By my definition, I am a populist; Nigel Farage is not.’

Controversies and accusations of antisemitism

Polanski has repeatedly called for the UK government to act on ‘the genocide in Gaza’ and demanded a halt to arms sales to Israel, backing a permanent ceasefire. However, just before the election, he became embroiled in controversy over an incident where two Jewish people were stabbed in Golders Green, North London. Polanski posted a critique of the police, then apologised for ‘inaccurate’ information.

Although Polanski insists ‘antisemitism, Islamophobia, or any form of hatred is not tolerated in the Green Party’, other candidates such as Philip Brookes and Mohammed Suleman have posted antisemitic content on social media. Professor Bale predicts the Greens may lose votes in some areas but will still gain many seats from Labour, particularly in multicultural inner London and ‘artsy towns’.