Zack Polanski has insisted he will not quit as Green Party leader, pushing back against mounting demands for his resignation following a high-profile by-election loss and a bitter row over Middle East policy.
The pushback erupted after a tumultuous week for the party. While Polanski spent Thursday evening watching Labour take the parliamentary seat of Holborn and St Pancras, senior colleagues were already questioning his grip on the party’s direction.
Defeat in North London
Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali secured the central London constituency with 45% of the ballots cast. Polanski finished in second place with 33%.
Despite the loss, the Greens pointed out that their vote share jumped by 22 percentage points compared with the 2024 general election in a seat formerly held by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Polanski framed the outcome as evidence of broader momentum.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Friday, he dismissed any thought of stepping down. Asked whether he intended to remain at the helm, he said he would “absolutely” carry on. “Yes, I’ve taken a loss tonight but our movement is so much bigger than one election or one motion,” he said.
Yet the mood among several prominent figures in the party is far from celebratory.
The Brighton Motion That Ignited Fury
Much of the anger stems not from the ballot box, but from the Green Party conference floor in Brighton. There, rank-and-file members passed a contentious motion that formally designated Zionism as an ideology supporting an “ethnonationalist Jewish state” and endorsed a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine.
Polanski chose not to attend the debate or the vote, explaining later that he was on the ground campaigning in London. That decision drew swift, scathing rebukes.
Vivien Lichtenstein, who chairs the Jewish Greens, told Times Radio that Polanski had made a “big mistake” by dodging the debate and called directly for his resignation. “I don’t know which Jewish members of the party he’s been working with – it certainly hasn’t been with the Jewish Greens committee,” she said.
Former leader Caroline Lucas stopped short of asking Polanski to quit, but she did not hide her dismay. Lucas branded the motion “flawed from top to bottom” and “dangerous,” arguing that senior leadership was “frankly missing” when members debated the issue.
Former co-leader Jonathan Bartley echoed those concerns on BBC Radio 4’s World at One. He urged Polanski to apologize, warning that a “certain toxicity” had crept into the organisation following an influx of activists who moved over from the left of the Labour Party.
Strained Defenses and Shifting Alliances
Green MP Adrian Ramsay, who previously led the party alongside Carla Denyer, offered only lukewarm backing when questioned on regional television. Ramsay remarked that Polanski “did not show leadership I would have been looking for” and confirmed he is actively working to overturn the Brighton resolution. Whether Polanski should stay on, Ramsay noted, would depend heavily on how events unfold in the coming weeks.
Polanski eventually broke his silence on the specific text on Friday. He admitted he considered the policy “imperfect” and would not have backed it without amendments. Still, he asserted that “the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people is clearly underpinned by a racist ideology.”
His remarks on national radio soon drew further scrutiny. During a testy exchange on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, presenter Nick Robinson repeatedly pressed Polanski on whether he recognizes Israel’s right to exist.
“I don’t believe any state has the right to oppress or to commit apartheid and certainly not genocide on another people,” Polanski replied. He declined to give a direct yes-or-no answer, adding: “I’ve repeated many times that I want to see equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians – at the moment Palestinians don’t have equal rights so I think I’m answering your question really clearly.”
Caught in the Middle
The controversy leaves Polanski navigating treacherous territory. By distancing himself from the conference text after it passed, he alienated some left-wing grassroots members who championed it. At the same time, his absence from the original vote and his refusal to condemn it outright have infuriated moderate and Jewish members.
For now, a formal leadership challenge appears unlikely. Polanski retains strong personal popularity among the activist base, and removing a leader under party rules is a slow, complex process. But with parliamentary colleagues openly questioning his judgment, the pressure on his leadership will not ease quickly.