“A GREEN LEFT IS BUILDING”
Zack Polanski is the the new leader of the Green Party. The result, as the BBC put it, signals “a clear shift to the left for the party.” He won by a landslide, beating the joint ticket of Adrian Ramsey and Ellie Chowns by 20,411 to 3.705 votes.
In his acceptance speech in front of a cheering crowd in London, Zack promised to take on Labour and Reform: “‘This is the Green party’s time. People in this country are exhausted. They are tired, they are sick of working long hours, and never feeling secure.”
He told the BBC’s Newsnight “”There’s an exciting moment in this country where a Green left is building … people are sick of politicians trying to find wedge issues or things they disagree on and fight on nonsense. Actually, what I want to do is make sure we are working together, we’re co-operating.”
“we will be relentless in opposition”
In a feature for the Guardian Zack writes: “Under my leadership, the Green party is going to be relentless in our opposition to a politics that favours the super-wealthy over the rest of us. That’s why the first people I will meet as leader today will be trade unionists: cleaners, carers and hospital porters. That’s why whenever you hear from us, you’ll hear our calls for a wealth tax, our demand for public ownership of water companies and our pledge to make childcare universal and free.”
“You can’t have environmental justice without social justice… We can make different political choices. Right now, the government is subsidising jet fuel. So, if someone is getting a private jet, that is cheaper – in terms of government subsidy – than someone getting a train.”
the new leadership team
The new co-deputy leaders of the party are Rachel Millward from Wealden in East Sussex and Mothin Ali from Leeds. The mixed backgrounds of the team drew the attention and approval of Novara Media: “After their victory speeches, the new leadership team – Polanski, Millward and Ali – briefly stood on the stage together. A Jewish Londoner, a woman from the home counties and a Muslim man from inner-city Leeds, united by a desire to remake their country in the face of both established power and an insurgent far right. For a moment, it was hard not to feel just a little bit of hope.”
Speaking at the count Mothin Ali thanked staff and supporters and went on to say “This is a huge honour. ‘As a Muslim, we have this concept of amanah — trust — and this is what people who have voted for me have put in me.’
Ali added that the country faced a ‘precipice’ in its politics. ‘There’s a huge rise in the far right. Minority communities, whether it’s Muslims, immigrants, or the LGBT community, are being targeted. Our fight is one. We’ve got to come together and make sure we’re ready to challenge Reform and the far right’.”