A northerner, a gay man and a Jew walk into parliament. Sounds like the start of a bad joke, right? But Zack Polanski, the new leader of the Green Party, is anything but a punchline.
In fact, he’s everything the far-right froth at the mouth about when they scream “woke socialist democracy.” He’s openly gay, Jewish, anti-racist, anti-fascist, pro-migrant, an LGBTQ ally, a friend to asylum seekers and, yes, a critic of Israel’s war on Gaza. Basically, a walking checklist of what the Daily Mail thinks is destroying Britain.
But unlike most politicians, he isn’t trimming his edges down to be palatable. He’s leading something of a ‘Green surge’ – a party often dismissed as “fringe-far-left” are looking very serious indeed. So who is Zack Polanski, what’s he about, and why is he impressing the shit out of me?
Who is Zack Polanski?
Born in Manchester in 1982, Polanski grew up in Leeds and worked for years as an actor, even dabbling in stage hypnotism (cue the right-wing headlines about “the boob hypnotist”) before moving into activism and politics. He joined the Green Party in 2017, becoming deputy leader in 2022, and now leader in 2025. According to Wikipedia, he’s been consistent on issues of climate, social justice and civil rights, with a bluntness you rarely see in Westminster.
Novara Media summed him up neatly: “With their new telegenic leader, Zack Polanski, [the Greens are] getting more airtime, even if the BBC is still ignoring their calls”. His rise isn’t built on oligarch donors – it’s built on people, members, and grassroots activists; often unpolished, often with a whiff of comradery, but seemingly effective nonetheless.
Why he’s impressing me:
1. He called Gaza what it is – genocide.
While Keir Starmer has spent two years squirming with “we’re considering all options” waffle, Polanski and the Greens are the first English political party to call it out directly. He condemned the IDF’s actions and even pushed for Israel’s armed forces to be recognised as a terrorist organisation. In an almost bollockless political theatre, this testicular fortitude stands out.
2. He takes on smear campaigns head-on.
From the tabloids dredging up his past as a stage hypnotist (mocked up into headlines about “boob hypnotism”) to insinuations about his sexuality or faith, he doesn’t hide or apologise. Instead, he uses his own social media platforms to go directly to people, cutting out the spin of right-wing rags, stopping them running away with their anti-woke narrative.
3. He has a plan for inequality that isn’t scapegoating brown people.
While Labour flirts with Reform’s dog-whistle politics, Polanski is talking about taxing wealth properly. Assets of millionaires and billionaires, not just salaries. As he’s pointed out, you can’t just uproot half of Mayfair and ship it abroad. This is politics that treats inequality as structural, not as a stick to beat migrants with.
4. (Most impressively) he seems… normal.
And that is rare. He comes across thoughtful, principled, decent, and human – not a robot spitting out focus-grouped lines (not to say he doesn’t have points to drive home). Even in a Green Party advert, chock-full of the usual tropes: staring into the distance, blurry background on a street that could be yours), he manages to come across as genuine.
Are the Greens having a Scandinavian moment?
The Commons right now feels like a bad parody. Lib Dems have gone quiet on everything but Tony Blair, Conservatives are defecting to Reform, and while Zack cuts about with his giant bollocks all over the place, Labour – my party of choice until now – seem utterly infertile of imagination in the face of rising fascism.
The Greens, who were once a protest vote, are becoming the “protect the right to protest” vote. An actual left choice. A Labour-ish party if Labour weren’t so busy trying to be like David Cameron’s Conservatives. Like Greta Thunberg, they’ve broadened their fight from just climate policy into a bigger mission: saving the earth and everyone on it from exploitation, fascism and greed.
And with Zack Polanski at the helm, they’ve found a leader who feels less like a politician and more like a human being. In today’s Westminster, that might just be (viva la) revolutionary.
If this is the UK Greens’ Scandinavian moment, let’s hope they’re ready: In Iceland, the Left-Greens ran the country for years under Katrín Jakobsdóttir. In Sweden, the Greens spent almost a decade in government with the Social Democrats. Both times, the Greens went from fringe-left voices to real governing forces. But both also stumbled. Iceland’s coalition collapsed over bitter rows on energy and asylum. Sweden’s Green ministers ended up grounded by compromise and party division.
That’s the lesson for the UK Greens. If they want staying power, they need to avoid the kind of in-fighting that’s unseated Green governments in Scandinavia and caused hiccups in movements closer to home (see: Jeremy Corbyn/YourParty).
Whether they manage their Scandinavian moment or not, I think the Greens can consider themselves a party worthy of some serious talking time come the next election, and as of writing, probably, my vote.
Labour -1 | Greens + 1
