New Green Party leader wants to ‘reclaim’ populism after landslide win

The new Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said he wants to “reclaim” populism after a landslide victory that will see his party shift its politics to the left.

Mr Polanski, who spoke of wanting to shift the party’s politics towards “eco-populism” during the leadership race, could offer a fresh headache to Sir Keir Starmer’s Government from the political left.

The new Green leader warned “we are here to replace you” in a message to Labour during his victory speech.

He also hit out at the “charlatans” of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, while acknowledging many voters are drawn to the party as a result of feeling “hopeless”.

The London Assembly member later told the PA news agency he wanted to reclaim the word “populist” from Nigel Farage.

“We want to reclaim the word ‘populist’, the word ‘patriot’, and even the flag.

“I think we need to stop giving these symbols and these ideas to the right just because they shout louder.”

He said the Green Party could learn from Reform’s success in storytelling.

“I despise Nigel Farage politics and everything he stands for. He takes misinformation and lies and then combines it with a powerful story.

“We will never take misinformation and lies, but what I think we can learn from is the powerful stories, which is why we often see Reform polling at the top.”

Put to him that while the Greens match the number of Reform MPs – four each – they have failed so far to match that party’s climbing membership figures and polling, Mr Polanski said he intended to change that immediately.

The Green Party now has 68,500 members, while Reform UK has more than 200,000.

Mr Polanski said it was too early to talk about working with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s party “because they don’t exist, they’re not even a party yet”, but suggested he would be open to co-operating.

“I’m willing to work and talk with anyone who shares my values, and that includes Jeremy Corbyn, includes Zarah Sultana, frankly, includes some of the MPs from from the Liberal Democrats, too.”

Mr Corbyn said he looked forward to “working with” the Green Party in a tweet congratulating the new leader.

He wrote on X: “Your campaign took on the rich and powerful, stood up for the dignity of all marginalised communities, and gave people hope!

“Real change is coming. I look forward to working with you to create a fairer, kinder world.”

A left-wing alliance could provide an electoral challenge to Sir Keir.

We Deserve Better, an initiative pushing for a left-wing electoral pact, vowed to build a “strong and united left” after Mr Polanski’s win.

Mr Polanski had appealed to those who felt “politically homeless” in his speech to Green members.

“If you’re feeling hopeless, if you’re feeling in despair, if you’re feeling politically homeless, there is a political home for you.”

The new leader also said his party would “take on power and wealth” in the UK.

Elsewhere, he added that he knew voters were “sick of working long hours and never feeling secure”.

He added: “They see water companies pumping sewage into our waters and charging us extra for the privilege, and they see how broken the old two-party system is, and we know this political space has been ripe for charlatans like Nigel Farage and Reform, millionaires who are pretending to serve working-class communities but are actually backed by the same billionaires who are destroying our democracies, our communities and our planet.”

The new leader claimed the Greens under his stewardship would “hold this Labour Government to account”.

Mr Polanski added: “Because when we look at Keir Starmer and what this Government have been doing, whether it’s the two-child benefit cap, the disability cuts, the genocide in Gaza, my message to Labour is very clear: we are not here to be disappointed by you, we are not here to be concerned by you, we’re here to replace you.”

Mr Polanski saw off a joint ticket bid by two of the party’s MPs, Ellie Chowns and Adrian Ramsay, for the party leadership.

He won with a vote of 20,411 members, a vast majority over the 3,705 votes cast for Mr Ramsay and Ms Chowns.

However, turnout in the election appeared to be less than a third of the party’s numbers.

Losing co-candidates Mr Ramsay and Ms Chowns congratulated Mr Polanski on his victory.

In a joint statement, they added: “As MPs, we are fully committed to our crucial role: holding this Government to account and championing the policies needed for a fairer, greener and more liveable future.

“Together with Zack and deputy leaders Rachel Millward and Mothin Ali, we will continue to build on the extraordinary progress the Green Party has made, and take it further than ever before.”

Labour Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves said Mr Polanski should “level with the British people” on his stance over Nato membership.

The new Green Party leader told PA it was “unrealistic for now” for the UK to leave Nato but said he is in favour of starting conversations with European neighbours about an “alternative”.

Published: 02/09/2025 by Radio NewsHub