The Green party’s outspoken leader, Zack Polanski, has adopted a combative approach as the party enters the media spotlight. From legitimate scrutiny to lurid scare stories, the Green party’s rise has brought a sudden spike in attention.
Media Trial for Smaller Parties
It is the lot of smaller parties that grow rapidly that they tend to endure something of a trial by the media in the UK. The attention from some newspapers and broadcasters to the Green party before this week’s elections has occasionally borne an unlikely resemblance to the height of Clegg-mania in 2010, when Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg faced the Daily Mail headline “Clegg in Nazi slur on Britain”.
All manner of colourful tales have emerged about Green policies and personnel as the party has risen in national opinion polls, making them a target for news editors. That attention has ranged from legitimate questions over members’ views to eccentric warnings of a dire future for everyone in Britain, from exotic animals to members of the clergy.
“Woke Greens slammed as ‘barking mad’ over plans to license dog owners and ban zoos”, read one recent Sun headline. Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid also warned that the “loony” Greens would “drop Church of England as UK’s established church if it wins election” and ban horse racing.
Controversial Allegations
There has been inevitable exposure of controversial or offensive views allegedly held by Green candidates. The Mail on Sunday revealed one candidate described justice secretary David Lammy and former home secretary Priti Patel as “coconuts”, a racial slur. Another candidate believed Britain should hand back the Falklands to Argentina. “Still thinking of voting Green?” the newspaper asked.
Perhaps most damaging, given recent attacks on Jewish people in the UK, has been a spate of antisemitism allegations. On Thursday, two Green candidates standing for Lambeth council were arrested over allegedly antisemitic posts. Another candidate, in Walsall, was revealed to have referred to “Jewish cockroaches” in a 2023 social media post.
Polanski Under Fire
Party leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, has drawn fire himself. He asked whether there is an “actual threat” to the Jewish community in the UK rather than a “perception of unsafety”. After the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, he shared a post criticising police officers for allegedly “repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head”.
That prompted anger from many who perceived a crass response to a dangerous situation. Met commissioner Mark Rowley criticised Polanski’s “inaccurate and misinformed commentary”, and Polanski later apologised “for sharing a tweet in haste”. However, the Greens said they had “engaged lawyers” over a cartoon in The Times that they said was antisemitic.
A party spokesperson said: “It is astonishing that amongst a rising climate of antisemitism in the UK, a national newspaper has chosen to publish a cartoon of the only Jewish political leader using tropes associated with antisemitic depictions.”
Combative Approach
Few frontline politicians in British politics have taken such a combative approach to certain outlets. Before Saturday’s furore, there was a testy confrontation with Ed Balls on Good Morning Britain, where Polanski suggested the former Labour minister was not an impartial observer. Polanski later reshared a post claiming Balls came across like a “classroom bully”.
There was also a scrap with the Daily Mail over Polanski’s family. The Mail ran a series under “Beware of the Green Menace”, with one story suggesting Polanski faced a “rebellion from his own family as they fear being forced to leave UK if Green leader becomes prime minister”. Three unnamed relatives spoke of concerns about the Greens’ policy on Gaza. Polanski attacked, pointing to polling showing the Greens in second place behind Reform. “The rightwing propaganda machine will not work on the Green party,” he wrote.
Freelance reporter Nicole Lampert responded: “Daily Mail journalists aren’t going after your family… I spoke to your family members who are frightened by the Jew hate in your party.” Polanski hit back, calling her behaviour “parasitic”. Lampert later suggested his “thin skin” showed unfitness to govern.
Mixed Reactions
Others sympathetic to the Greens might lament that this story illustrates difficulties for a progressive party in a rightwing media environment. Senior Green figures see it differently: the surge of media interest is to be celebrated, and Polanski’s forceful response is what voters want to see.
Gawain Towler, a press aide to Reform leader, said Polanski “has learned more from Donald Trump than Nigel Farage”. Jenny Jones, a former deputy mayor of London, said she used to have to “pester” for attention but now welcomes the influx of requests. “Oh, I think it’s very flattering. A lot of it is total utter nonsense, but it gives us an opportunity to bite back.”
Labour officials have helped fill journalists’ notepads with Green tales. The Green party’s media team pushes back behind the scenes. “We’re not really interested in what the rightwing media thinks of us, but we are not going to let that narrative be laid down,” a source said.
One journalist covering the Greens said they are “delighted that we now consider them important enough to write about. They are colourful characters with mad policies, so they make for good stories.” As long as polling numbers stay high, Polanski and his colleagues can expect plenty more of the same.
