Zack Polanski wins Green party leadership election

Zack Polanski has won the election to lead the Greens in England and Wales in a result that will mean the party adopts his vision to become a mass membership “eco-populism” movement, directly taking on Reform UK.

Polanski, who was deputy leader and is a Green member of the London Assembly, defeated Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns by 20,411 to 3,705 votes in a ballot of party members. Ramsay and Chowns, who were standing as a co-leadership team, are two of the Greens’ four MPs.

A Polanski win had been increasingly expected by party insiders and it heralds what could be a markedly new chapter for the party, abandoning its longstanding focus on patiently building up councillor and MP numbers in favour of a more radical, media-focused approach.

While Polanski has said he will still concentrate on electoral gains, his hope is to accelerate Green advances by adopting a more visible and sometimes combative tone in media appearances, with the hope of mimicking Reform’s rapid advances under Nigel Farage.

Ramsay and Chowns previously said that while they acknowledged Polanski’s communication skills – he is a former actor – they were concerned his more overtly leftwing approach could put off moderate voters, especially in the sort of rural seats they represent in parliament.

More details soon …