Green Party leader Polanski says he will remain in post despite internal calls for resignation
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Zack Polanski affirmed he will stay on as leader of the Green Party after a by-election loss and criticism over his handling of a motion labeling Zionism as racism, while several party figures have urged him to step down.
The Green Party’s leader, Zack Polanski, told BBC Breakfast he will "absolutely" remain in his role despite losing the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, where Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali won 45% of the vote and the Greens secured 33% – a rise of 22 percentage points from the general election.
His continuation comes amid mounting pressure from within the party. Vivien Lichtenstein, head of the party’s Jewish Greens, said on Times Radio that Polanski should resign, calling his avoidance of a debate on a conference motion that defined Zionism as a form of racism a "big mistake". Lichtenstein also indicated she might leave the party over the controversy.
Former leaders Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley echoed criticism, saying Polanski failed to show the leadership expected during the motion’s vote and urging him to apologise, though neither demanded his immediate departure. Adrian Ramsay, a former co-leader, said he is working to reverse the motion and noted that Polanski’s leadership was lacking.
The motion, passed by party members, describes Zionism as supporting an "ethnonationalist Jewish state" and calls for a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine. Polanski defended his absence from the vote, saying he was campaigning in the constituency and would not have supported the motion in its current form. He reiterated his stance that the displacement of Palestinians is underpinned by a racist ideology and expressed support for equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.
Other Green MPs, such as Ellie Chowns, affirmed support for Israel’s right to exist while opposing the policies of the current Israeli government. Outside the party, Labour chair Bridget Phillipson warned that the Greens now face a "serious problem" with antisemitism, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the motion "completely wrong" and urged its reversal.