Zack Polanski

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Zack Polanski
AM
Polanski in 2022
Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
Incumbent
Assumed office
2 September 2025
DeputyMothin Ali
Rachel Millward
Preceded byAdrian Ramsay
Carla Denyer
Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
In office
7 September 2022 – 2 September 2025
LeaderAdrian Ramsay
Carla Denyer
Preceded byAmelia Womack
Succeeded byRachel Millward
Mothin Ali
Member of the London Assembly
for Londonwide
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 May 2021
Personal details
BornDavid Paulden
(1982-11-02) 2 November 1982 (age 42)
Salford, Greater Manchester, England
Political partyGreen Party (since 2017)
Other political
affiliations		Liberal Democrats (before 2017)
Domestic partnerRichie Bryan
Alma materAberystwyth University (BA)
Websitezackpolanski.com Edit this at Wikidata
backzack.com

Zack Polanski (born David Paulden; 2 November 1982) is a British politician who has been the Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales since September 2025, succeeding the joint leadership of Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, and a member of the London Assembly (AM) since May 2021. Before being elected leader, Polanski was previously the Deputy Leader of the Greens from 2022 to 2025.

Polanski describes his political views as eco-populist, linking broad issues like high costs of living and the climate crisis as both being caused by the wealthy.

Early life

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Zack Polanski was born David Paulden on 2 November 1982[1] in Salford, Greater Manchester, to a Jewish family who had moved to the UK from Eastern Europe in the early twentieth century and had adopted the surname of Paulden in hopes of evading antisemitism.[2][3] At age 18 he changed his name, restoring his familial name of Polanski, later saying it was important for him to find pride, not shame, in his identity.[2] He also changed his first name, selecting Zack in homage to a Jewish character from the novel Goodnight Mister Tom, and to differentiate himself from his stepfather, also named David.[3]

His parents divorced when he was young.[4]

Polanski grew up in Salford and attended Stockport Grammar School on a scholarship before moving to Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College, which was known at that time as Ridge Danyers College.[4][5][6] He studied at Aberystwyth University and later attended a drama school in Georgia in the United States. He moved to London in the mid-00s on graduation.[4][7]

Polanski worked with the theatre company DifferencENGINE as an immersive theatre actor, including appearances in The Hollow Hotel,[8] The People's Revolt (in the Tower of London)[9] and in the Peaky Blinders immersive theatre experience.[citation needed] He taught at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts and the National Centre for Circus Arts. Polanski also sang for the London International Gospel Choir.[10][11][12]

Polanski also worked as a hypnotherapist. In 2013, a journalist for The Sun requested a hypnotherapy session to increase her breast size and body image self-confidence for an article in the paper. Polanski featured in the published article. Polanski said that he did not charge for the session, that the article did not accurately reflect the situation and apologised for his involvement.[3][13][14][15]

In politics

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Before leading the Green Party

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Polanski was active in the Liberal Democrats.[3] He stood as a Liberal Democrat council candidate for St Pancras and Somers Town in a 2015 by-election to Camden London Borough Council.[16] He stood in the Barnet and Camden constituency and was fifth on the London-wide list for the party in the 2016 London Assembly election.[5] In June 2016, he heckled Jeremy Corbyn at a Momentum rally owing to Corbyn's stance on the EU.[17]

He left the Liberal Democrats[18] and joined the Green Party in 2017.[3] He stood as the Green candidate in the Cities of London and Westminster parliamentary constituency at the 2019 general election and finished in fourth place of six candidates, with 1.7%.[19] Before his election to the London Assembly, he became treasurer of the Jewish Greens.[20] In 2018, Polanski wrote on Twitter about an alleged conversation that he overheard in a restaurant, involving the then chief secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss. According to Polanski, Truss criticised several of her colleagues and he said that the public deserved to know that she spoke differently in public compared to private.[21] He took part in Extinction Rebellion protests and was arrested at a protest in April 2019.[14][4][22]

On 6 May 2021, Polanski was elected a Member of the London Assembly, having been third on the Green Party's London-wide list.[3] He also stood in the West Central constituency, where he came third,[23] and for the Churchill by-election to Westminster City Council, where he came fourth[24] on the same day. In the new Assembly, Polanski was elected to be the chair of the Environment committee and to be on the Committee for Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning and the Economy Committee.

In December 2021, Polanski proposed a successful motion in the London Assembly backing the Climate and Ecological Emergency bill. It was a cross-party motion with Labour and Liberal Democrat support.[25][26] In 2021 he was also the Green Party's national spokesperson for democracy and citizen engagement.[27]

On 6 June 2022, Polanski announced his candidacy in the 2022 Green Party of England and Wales deputy leadership election.[28] The Wales Green Party gave their endorsement of his candidacy for deputy leader.[29] On 7 September 2022, he was elected Deputy Leader, succeeding Amelia Womack.[30]

Polanski linked the cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis, putting workers' rights at the heart of his platform. Polanski stated, "A higher wage economy is a green economy, and the Green party will always stand side by side with people who face economic, social and environmental struggles."[31]

In May 2024, Polanski was re-elected to the London Assembly and, in June 2024, re-elected as Chair of the London Assembly Environment Committee.[32] During the 2024 United Kingdom general election campaign, The Guardian praised Polanski for being a "fluent media performer".[33] In January 2025, Polanski refused to have an all-male panel in London's Environment Committee insisting on a diversity of speakers. The Conservatives walked out of the meeting calling Polanski's actions "left wing identity politics".[34]

In May 2025, Polanski announced his candidacy for the 2025 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election.[13] In his announcement, he said that the Greens needed to be able to challenge Reform UK's political narrative and to take advantage of political disillusionment with the Labour Party.[13] Later that week, Owen Jones endorsed Polanski in The Guardian.[35] Senior members of the Green Party, including Caroline Lucas endorsed Polanski's opponents.[36] Polanski has stated that, under his leadership, the party will focus on "redistributing wealth, funding public services, and calling out the genocide in Gaza".[18] Polanski repeatedly links environmental, social, racial and economic justice.[37]

Leader of the Green Party

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On 2 September 2025, Polanski was elected as leader of the Green Party in a landslide, with 85% of the vote share,[38] succeeding Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay in that position and beating a rival bid from MPs Ramsay and Ellie Chowns. The Green Party saw its membership rise by at least 8% from May to July 2025, when Polanski launched his leadership bid, in what some have described as a "Polanski surge". Novara Media claimed that the party has at least 65,000 members, slightly behind its 2015 peak of 67,000. The party later confirmed its membership figures to be 68,500 then [38][39]. It rose to 75,000+ by 19th September 2025 [40] and 80,000+ at the beginning of October 2025.[41]

In his first speech as leader, Polanski said the Green Party aims to replace the Labour Party, and expressed enthusiasm for working with others who were critical both of the Labour Party and of fascism.[38] Polanski also said he could not imagine supporting a coalition government led by Keir Starmer.[38] He has said his top priority is the Wales Green Party winning its first member of the Senedd in the next Senedd election.[42] In his first days as leader, he released the first episode of his weekly podcast Bold Politics with Zack Polanski which reached fourth place in the UK news podcast charts by 8 September, and visited Nigel Farage's parliamentary seat in Clacton to speak with the Reform UK seat's constituents.[43]

On 30 September, Polanski was listed in Time Magazine's 2025 100 Next, listing the world's 100 most influential rising stars.[44]

In October, he addressed his first conference in Bournemouth.[45]

Political views

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Polanski has labelled his political views as eco-populist, combining environmental politics and populism. Polanski argues that people are unable to consider the climate crisis if they are struggling with day-to-day material concerns such as high rent burden, and high costs of food or heating.[4][46] In addition to green politics, Polanski has advocated for increasing taxes on billionaires, renationalising water companies, challenging lack of government subsidy on net zero policies, and regulating private corporations more.[4][47][48][49][46][50] Polanski has also supported the introduction of a wealth tax, believing that tax on wealth is fairer than one focused on work-based income.[46]

Polanski has stated that he believes that the Gaza war is a genocide and should be treated as such by the UK Government.[51]

Polanski is critical of the UK's relationship with the United States and NATO, and advocates the UK's eventual withdrawal from NATO.[52][53] Polanski has said he believes that the UK's membership of NATO was untenable in the long-term, in part due to Donald Trump's threats to annex Greenland,[54] as well as NATO prioritising militarism before diplomacy.[46] Polanski has suggested that establishing organisations that prioritise European defence, democracy, diplomacy and international peace would allow for the UK to eventually leave NATO.[46][53][52]

Personal life

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Polanski is gay and vegan.[55][56][57] He currently lives within the London Borough of Hackney with his partner, Richie Bryan, who works in palliative care.[55][58]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Polanski, Zack [@ZackPolanski] (2 November 2022). "Thanks Carla! 💚 Fun fact : I'm 40 today and so is @Channel4. Born on the same day - happy birthday C4!" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 July 2023 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b Bourke, India (6 June 2022). "Can the Greens become more than a single MP party in England and Wales?". New Statesman. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barradale, Greg (6 June 2025). "Zack Polanski on making Starmer more scared of the Greens than Reform". The Big Issue. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Williams, Zoe (13 May 2025). "'I thought politics was a dirty thing' – Zack Polanski on his 'eco-populist' vision for the Green party". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  5. ^ a b Frazer, Jennl (29 April 2021). "Jewish candidates prepare to do battle as local election day looms". The Jewish Chronicle.
  6. ^ "Feuilleton" (PDF). The Stopfordian. 1997. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  7. ^ Vale, Julie McNicholls (2 May 2019). "Former Aberystwyth student rejoins climate change protests following arrest". Cambrian News. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  8. ^ Clarendon, Emma (26 April 2018). "PREVIEW: The Hollow Hotel, The Biscuit Factory". Love London Love Culture.
  9. ^ "The Peoples Revolt". johnnymaya.com. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  10. ^ "Ich Bin Kentishtowner: Zack Polanski, Hypnotherapist". Kentish Towner. Kentishtowner.co.uk. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Roots". The Family Tree. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  12. ^ Neicho, Joshua (15 March 2020). "Meet the new members of the London Assembly". OnLondon. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  13. ^ a b c Walker, Peter (5 May 2025). "Green deputy launches leadership bid with UK 'eco-populism' vision". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Zack Polanski: Who is the new Green Party leader?". BBC News. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  15. ^ Morgan, Rhodri (8 December 2019). "Green Party candidate apologises again for misogynistic experiment". South West Londoner. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  16. ^ Teale, Andrew. "Local Elections Archive Project — St Pancras and Somers Town Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  17. ^ Waterson, Jim (30 June 2016). "The Man Who Heckled Jeremy Corbyn is Actually a Lib Dem Candidate". BuzzFeed.
  18. ^ a b Gross, Anna (6 August 2025). "Green party must tap into 'people's anger', says leadership frontrunner". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 6 August 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  19. ^ "Cities of London & Westminster parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  20. ^ Harpin, Lee (10 May 2021). "Local Elections 2021: Jewish candidates standing for all parties have success". Times of Israel. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Cabinet minister Liz Truss 'overheard saying Javid or Hunt will replace May and everyone hates Gove'". The Independent. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  22. ^ Polanski, Zack (22 April 2019). "I Was One Of The First Extinction Rebellion Protestors To Be Arrested – Here's Why I Have No Regrets". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  23. ^ Meyer-Funnell, Catherine; Shosha, Adie (7 May 2021). "Tories, Greens and Lib Dems react to West Central result". SWLondoner.
  24. ^ "Labour's Liza Begum wins Westminster Council by-election". South London News. 7 May 2021. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  25. ^ "The London Assembly calls on Mayor Khan to back the CEE Bill!". Zero Hour. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  26. ^ "London Assembly gives support to proposed Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill". CIWEM. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  27. ^ "Green Party reveals new team of spokespeople". The Green Party. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  28. ^ Jarvis, Chris (6 June 2022). "Zack Polanski announces bid for Green Party deputy leadership". Bright Green. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  29. ^ James, Lauren (10 July 2022). "Wales Green Party endorses Zack Polanski for Green Party deputy leader". Wales Green Party. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  30. ^ Jarvis, Chris (7 September 2022). "Zack Polanski elected deputy leader of the Green Party". Bright Green. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  31. ^ Polanski, Zack (12 September 2022). "You might expect Conservatives to resist workers' rights, but Labour? Only the Greens stand with strikers". The Guardian.
  32. ^ "Environment Committee". London City Hall. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  33. ^ Walker, Peter (24 May 2024). "A guide to the six main parties: what will be their campaign messages?". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  34. ^ Vickers, Noah (10 January 2025). "Tories walk out of City Hall meeting in protest over 'wokery'". The Standard. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  35. ^ Jones, Owen (7 May 2025). "If the Greens really are to become the Reform-style populists of the left, Zack Polanski could be their man". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  36. ^ "Is Britain's Green Party too nice to emulate Reform UK?". The Economist. 7 August 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  37. ^ Polanski, Zack (2 June 2025). "I want the Greens to be a populist party – here's how". The Independent. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  38. ^ a b c d Wheeler, Brian (2 September 2025). "Zack Polanski elected leader of the Green Party". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 September 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025. Thousands of new members joined the party during the leadership campaign, taking its membership to 68,500.
  39. ^ Clarke-Ezzidio, Harry (8 July 2025). "Are we entering a new era of left-wing infighting?". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 14 August 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  40. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/sep/19/greens-membership-surge-after-public-split-between-corbyn-and-sultana
  41. ^ https://greenparty.org.uk/2025/09/28/greens-announce-new-membership-record-on-first-day-of-labour-party-conference/
  42. ^ "Green leader Zack Polanski says number one priority is Senedd". BBC News. 7 September 2025. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  43. ^ Walker, Peter (8 September 2025). "'We have to tell an alternative story': Green leader Polanski chats to Nigel Farage's constituents". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  44. ^ Sutherland, Callum (30 September 2025). "Zack Polanski: TIME100 Next 2025". TIME.
  45. ^ "Tax wealthiest to end rip-off Britain, says Green leader Polanski". BBC News. 3 October 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  46. ^ a b c d e Kenyon, Megan (10 May 2025). "The eco-populist against net zero". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 10 May 2025. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  47. ^ Bradley, Sorcha (14 May 2025). "Zack Polanski: the 'eco-populist' running for Green Party leader". The Week. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  48. ^ Kenyon, Megan (2 June 2025). "The Green Party's internal war". New Statesman. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  49. ^ Taylor, Ros (1 July 2025). "Meet Zack Polanski, Britain's first eco-populist". The New World. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  50. ^ Cohen, Tamara (2 September 2025). "The 'eco-populist' Green Party leader who wants to be the Farage of the Left". Sky News. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  51. ^ "Labour government not just complicit - they are active participants in genocide, says Polanski". Green Party. 21 June 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  52. ^ a b Bienkov, Adam (8 May 2025). "Green Party Deputy Leader Zack Polanski Says UK Must Leave NATO Because of Trump". Byline Times. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  53. ^ a b "Zack Polanski: Who is the new Green Party leader?". www.bbc.com. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  54. ^ Bienkov, Adam (8 May 2025). "Green Party Deputy Leader Zack Polanski Says UK Must Leave NATO Because of Trump". Byline Times. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  55. ^ a b Horton, Helena (29 April 2025). "'It's an existential moment': Greens take on Reform in fight for fed-up voters". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  56. ^ Polanski, Zack (14 May 2021). "The reality is that London is a green and red city now". Huck Mag. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  57. ^ Flores, Shaun (4 January 2021). "Gay, Jewish and Vegan: In Conversation with Green Party Politican [sic] Zack Polanski". Flower Hour. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  58. ^ "Zack Polanski Elected Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales promising to create "a country where no one is left behind"". Green Party. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
2025–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
2022–2025 		Succeeded by