Zack Polanski tells the Canary he will work with others on the left – including Your Party

New Green Party leader Zack Polanski has made it clear that he will work with Your Party and “anyone who wants to build a progressive politics” with the aim of “getting rid of this Labour government and stopping Reform”.

Zack Polanski: we can work together

Speaking to the Canary, Zack Polanski said:

Fascism is on the rise. It’s not something that’s distant. It’s right here, right now. The climate crisis is right here, right now, as is the nature crisis. And inequality is huge. Since the pandemic, billionaire wealth in this country has doubled, whilst public assets have been stripped away. None of these things, particularly the anti-migrant rhetoric and the experience right now of Black and Brown people in this country, to increasingly toxic narratives, cannot wait around for discussions. It cannot wait around for endless meetings and sub-committees.

The Green Party is already on its feet and fighting across the country, he insisted, fighting against the two-child benefit cap, the government’s attack on disabled people, and the British state’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. And he stressed:

It’s very clear that the Green Party are a party of social, environmental, racial, and economic justice.

However, he also acknowledged that many people are focusing on supporting Your Party’s efforts to build a new party on the left. And he struck a collaborative tone, saying:

If people still want to form a new movement, that’s totally up to them. And rather than jump into a kind of competitive politics, if we align on values, I want to see how we can work together and how we can talk together.

‘Eco-populist, socialist,’ and ready to be part of the resistance

In response to critics who mention Green councillors who cut services in the past amid Tory-led austerity, Zack Polanski stressed that:

I’m working on it in terms of empowering our councillors to speak up more against the Labour government.

While emphasising that “parties are broad churches”, he asserted:

What I do recognise in the Green Party is that I’ve talked explicitly about being an eco-populist and a socialist movement.

We are a party on the left of the progressive movement. But also, for those of us on the left, we cannot keep allowing the most narrow of boundaries to be what people are allowed to be if they want to be in our team. And actually, we need to be winning the arguments and extending our solidarity to a broader base. Because that’s how we’re going to win elections.

Speaking about progressive alliances, specifically in light of some 2024 election races where independents could have beaten Labour with Green support, Polanski insisted:

my biggest priority is getting rid of this Labour government and stopping Reform. So I want to talk to anyone who wants to build a progressive politics

He argued that progressive independents would be a lot stronger if they worked within the Green Party, due to its already existing democratic structures, resources, and supporters. But even if they were candidates of the new left party that Your Party is organising, he said, that would make alliance discussions more straightforward. In such a case, he argued:

those negotiations become easier because you can start to have a bit more of a reciprocal relationship about that negotiation.