Green Party leader Zack Polanski has been reported to police after sharing a tweet that appeared to call for the execution of Nigel Farage. The post showed an activist wearing a T-shirt with a guillotine and the slogan: “We’re only making plans for Nigel.” Polanski later claimed he did not agree with the sentiments and had not realized the content, but critics argue he must take responsibility.
Controversial tweet and past blunders
This is not the first time Polanski has faced scrutiny. He previously became a national laughing stock after it emerged he had hypnotised women into thinking their breasts were bigger. He initially claimed he was set up but later confirmed in a radio interview that it was possible. He also failed to pay council tax on his houseboat for three years, defending himself by saying: “I didn’t know I had to.”
The timing of the tweet has drawn particular outrage. It came less than three weeks after the brutal killing of Ann Widdecombe, who died after 21 hammer blows to the head. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has received more than 600 death threats this year, many credible.
Party response and demands for action
Green deputy leader Rachel Millward defended Polanski, stating he took the post down “immediately.” When asked if he had apologised, she replied: “Has he not? He took it down.” A spokesperson for Polanski said: “After attending a public event, Zack accepted a request to collaborate on a post with several images. But he does not support this type of dangerous message.”
Carole Malone, writing for the Express, argues that Polanski cannot be allowed to escape accountability. “If his own party doesn’t sack him then police need to make him accountable,” she writes. “Just imagine if [Farage] had done what this idiot had done? He’d very definitely have been arrested.”
Growing calls for resignation
Critics say Polanski’s behaviour is dangerous and that the Greens are tanking in the polls partly because of his antics. Malone concludes that Polanski must be held responsible: “He should pay for that with his job as party leader.”
