Chances are that the name Zack Polanski wasn’t on your political radar until this week. Perhaps it still isn’t. But after being elected as the new leader of the Green Party, unseating the continuity candidates Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns with a staggering 85% of the vote, it is clear that the leadership of the self-dubbed ‘Eco-Populist’ ushers in a new era for the Greens. So, who is Zack Polanski, what might his leadership mean for the Green Party and why should you care?

Despite the insurgent status Polanski has crafted throughout his campaign, you might be surprised to hear he has been Deputy Leader of the Greens since 2022. In that time, the co-leadership of Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay yielded the party’s most successful electoral results to date: 4 Green MPs (a net gain of 3) and 859 local councillors. Polanski, however, is neither of these. He has been a member of the London Assembly since 2021. Before entering politics, he worked in community theatre and had a brief and not uncontroversial stint as a hypnotherapist. He was born into a Jewish family who fled Europe in the early twentieth century.

Ironically, despite his former affiliation with the Liberal Democrats, you could characterise Polanski’s new direction for the Greens as the dispelling of the ‘Lib Dems on Bikes’ perception – that the green voter is solely a middle-class progressive who cares for the environment.  Even amongst the Greens’ 4 MPs there is a clear conflict in identity. On one side are the cosmopolitan-types in Bristol and Brighton; on the other, rural constituencies like Waveney Valley and North Herefordshire (the seats of Polanski’s competitors), whose voters are likely more interested in environmental conservation than the Greens’ more socialist policies.  The c.20,000 votes Polanski received deliver a clear mandate for a radically different Green Party, not so much in terms of policy – this is largely decided by the members – but methodology. Enter: Eco-Populism.

If you want to get a flavour of what this new Green Party will look and feel like, look no further than the video the Party shared after the result was announced. The message here is that the traditional political class has failed, people are feeling hopeless and politically homeless, people are feeling angry…and I am here to help you. Does the rhetoric sound familiar? The anti-establishment energy, the people vs power narrative? It’s supposed to. Polanski is seeking to appropriate populism for the left, to beat Farage at his own game.

In many ways Polanski shares Farage’s diagnosis of the symptoms of an ailing United Kingdom, but for him the disease is not immigration, but austerity and what he prescribes is radically different: wealth taxes, nationalisation, pro-migration policies, ending arms sales to Israel and even NATO withdrawal. It’s green politics with a clenched fist and it is unabashedly socialist.

Do we not already have the new socialist kids on the block, you might ask? In short…yes. There is clear ideological alignment between this Green Party and the Sultana-Corbyn project. Might this mean a pre-election pact? While Corbyn and Polanski have signalled their willingness to do so, it seems unlikely in practice. Polanski is clearly seeking the climate-conscious, urban, pro-Gaza leftist vote. Your Party (name TBD) will be too.

Recent Ipsos polling shows that 33% of those who voted for Labour in 2024 would consider voting for a Corbyn-Sultana-led party, as well as 43% of those who voted for the Greens in 2024. Our electoral system is such that there simply isn’t enough room for two parties on the far left.

In somewhere like Bristol in 2024, the Green canvassers had an easy sell: the Tories are toast so you can vote with your conscience, it’s us or Labour. But looking forward to 2029, this choice is not so simple. While Kemi’s Conservatives stumble on in a state of disrepair, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party limps merely 3 points ahead in the polls, weighed down by poor growth and seemingly endless political controversy. Meanwhile, Reform are sitting pretty at 31%. This leaves the would-be Green voter facing a difficult decision in 2029.

The potency of Reform is their ability to transcend the traditional left–right axis, claiming votes from both. In light of this, many voters may hold their nose and back Labour to avoid a Farage government.

Whatever happens, Zack Polanski will make himself heard. He has a reputation as an excellent communicator and has already shown his nous for the art of social media campaigning. Whether that translates into electoral returns remains to be seen, but you and your organisation will want to learn the name Polanski - his party is set to make media waves on everything from nationalisation to executive pay, wealth taxes and, of course, climate policy.

If your organisation is navigating this ever-evolving political terrain from Reform’s rise, to Green gains and a fragmenting electorate, our public affairs team is here to help. Why not reach out to publicaffairs@cardewgroup.com.