Green leader Zack Polanski under pressure after Holborn loss

Green party leader Zack Polanski (photo) is facing questions about his future after a byelection defeat in Holborn and St Pancras, a seat the party had hoped to win. Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali took 45% of the vote, with Polanski on 33%. The result came after a series of controversies, including his failure to pay council tax and his decision to share a social media post criticising the police.

Defiant response and internal criticism

Polanski struck a defiant tone on Friday, pointing out that the Greens had tripled their vote share and achieved their second best byelection result in history. “If things are going wrong by the fact that we just tripled our vote share and had our second best byelection result in Green party history, you know what? I’ll take that,” he said. But not everyone in the party agrees. Former leader Caroline Lucas told BBC Newsnight that Polanski “should have been there and he should have voted” on a motion equating Zionism with racism at the party conference, which he skipped to campaign in the byelection. Vivien Lichtenstein, leader of Jewish Greens, called for him to step down, saying it was a “big mistake” not to speak and vote for amendments on Palestinian self-determination.

Polling and wider challenges

Polanski’s personal ratings have slumped. More in Common polling puts him at -28 net approval, making him the least popular major UK party leader, even below Nigel Farage. Luke Tryl, director of More in Common, said the Holborn result exposed a dual challenge: Andy Burnham’s replacement of Keir Starmer has brought disillusioned progressives back to Labour, while Polanski has become more polarising. “It was just one of those moments which gave soft Green supporters pause for thought,” Tryl said of the police post controversy. Still, he cautioned against writing off the Greens, noting the Holborn swing was below average for a defending seat at byelections.

Supporters rally

Despite the setbacks, Polanski retains a base. The leftwing faction Greens Organise said he should stay on, arguing that “not all growth and success is linear, there will be ups and downs; the real test for a political organisation is how we deal with failure.” They added: “We have reshaped the British political landscape. The Green party can still become the ecosocialist party we need. Zack is still the leader who can get us there.” Under Polanski, the party has quadrupled membership to over 230,000 and won its first seat in the north of England. Camden councillor Hamza Chowdhury, who was overlooked as candidate in Holborn in favour of Polanski, called the result “a huge win for the Green party and the wider movement.”