The Green Party's rapid rise in the polls has brought intense media scrutiny, with leader Zack Polanski adopting a combative stance against what he perceives as unfair attacks. From legitimate policy questions to lurid scare stories, the party has faced a barrage of coverage ranging from claims about licensing dog owners to allegations of antisemitism among candidates.
Recent headlines have included the Sun's 'Woke Greens slammed as 'barking mad' over plans to license dog owners and ban zoos', and warnings that the party would 'drop Church of England as UK's established church' and ban horse racing. The Mail on Sunday revealed a candidate had used a racial slur against David Lammy and Priti Patel, and another believed Britain should hand back the Falklands to Argentina.
Most damaging have been allegations of antisemitism. Two Green candidates standing for Lambeth council were arrested over allegedly antisemitic posts, and a Walsall candidate was revealed to have referred to 'Jewish cockroaches' in a 2023 social media post. Polanski, who is Jewish, has drawn criticism for questioning whether there is an 'actual threat' to the Jewish community and for sharing a post criticising police after the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green.
Polanski later apologised for sharing the post 'in haste', but the Greens have engaged lawyers over a Times cartoon they say is 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 in the country using tropes so clearly associated with antisemitic depictions of Jewish people.'
Polanski has also clashed with Ed Balls on Good Morning Britain over border policy, suggesting the former Labour minister was not impartial, and has been involved in a scrap with the Daily Mail over his family. The party's rise has brought a trial by media, with Polanski refusing to back down.
