Polanski Defiant on Green Leadership as Party Split Deepens Over Zionism Vote

Zack Polanski has insisted he will remain leader of the Green Party despite a by-election defeat and mounting calls from within his own ranks for him to step down. Speaking on Friday, he said he would "absolutely" stay in the post and dismissed any suggestion that his position had been called into question. His defiant stance came after two former Green leaders criticised his handling of a bitter internal row over a conference motion that redefined the party's policy on Zionism.

The crisis follows Thursday's by-election in Holborn and St Pancras, a London seat previously held by former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The Green Party had hoped to capture the constituency after a strong by-election win earlier in the year. Instead, Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali secured 45 per cent of the vote, with Polanski taking 33 per cent. The Conservative candidate finished a distant third on 1,922 votes, followed by Reform UK on 1,612, the Liberal Democrats on 924 and Restore Britain on 692. Despite the loss, the Greens did take heart from a 22-percentage-point increase in their vote share compared with the 2024 general election.

The most damaging criticism came from Vivien Lichtenstein, who chairs the Jewish Greens. She told Times Radio that Polanski should resign and described it as a "big mistake" for him to have avoided a debate on a party conference motion declaring Zionism a form of racism. Lichtenstein said she did not know which Jewish members of the party Polanski had been consulting, adding that it had "certainly" not been the Jewish Greens committee.

The motion, passed by rank-and-file members on Sunday, became official party policy. It defines Zionism as an ideology supporting "an ethnonationalist Jewish state" and calls for "a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine", a territory that includes modern-day Israel. The vote has sparked anger on multiple sides of the party, with critics warning it alienates Jewish members and damages the Greens' public standing.

Polanski defended his absence from the Brighton vote, explaining that he had been campaigning in the North London constituency. He confirmed on Friday that he would not have supported the "imperfect" motion without amendments, though he stopped short of outright condemning it. He said "the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people is clearly underpinned by a racist ideology". Several United Nations reports have accused the Israeli government of committing war crimes that amount to genocide in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly denied all such allegations.

On BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Polanski was pressed repeatedly on whether he believed Israel had a right to exist. He declined to give a direct yes or no, saying: "I don't believe any state has the right to oppress or to commit apartheid and certainly not genocide on another people." He added that he did not believe such a state should receive anyone's support. Asked by presenter Nick Robinson for a clear answer, he said he had stated many times that he wanted equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians, and that Palestinians currently lack equal rights. He insisted this answered the question clearly.

Caroline Lucas, a former Green Party leader, said Polanski should have attended the conference vote. She described the motion itself as "dangerous" and "flawed from top to bottom", and said leadership "was frankly missing" during the debate. However, Lucas did not join calls for Polanski to resign. She welcomed the fact that he had "indicated he shares some of my concerns on the Zionism motion" and urged the party to unite and make the urgent changes needed to move forward.

Adrian Ramsay, a Green MP and former co-leader, also declined to back Polanski when asked on the BBC's Politics East. He said "a lot depends on what happens in the days and weeks to come" and that Polanski "did not show leadership I would have been looking for". Ramsay added that he was now working to reverse the motion.

Jonathan Bartley, who served as Green co-leader from 2016 to 2021, called on Polanski to "put his hands up" and apologise, though he too stopped short of demanding his resignation. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's World at One, Bartley said the vote represented "a failure of leadership from Zack" and that "there is a certain toxicity now around the Green Party". He said the Green brand "needs to be detoxified", noting that the party had seen an influx of members who may have come from the left of the Labour Party.

Behind the scenes, longstanding Green figures remain frustrated and have accused Polanski of being "missing in action" over the motion. One critic suggested the leader now faces an untenable position, heading a party whose Middle East policy he disagrees with. The same source warned that Polanski "is in danger of losing the confidence of both wings", pointing out that some supporters of the motion have also been irritated by his refusal to publicly endorse it. The episode has exposed a widening rift between the leadership and the activist base.

Despite the turmoil, Polanski may be protected by his popularity among grassroots members. A leadership challenge in the near future appears unlikely, even as pressure builds from former leaders and Jewish representatives. For now, the Green leader is betting that his wider movement, which he said is "so much bigger than one election or one motion", will carry him through the storm. Whether the party can heal its divisions over such a sensitive issue remains an open question.