Sanctions could easily spiral out of control and become far more damaging than the British Government intends Daily Telegraph 08/09/26 It is all an act, apparently. That was the message that British diplomats reportedly gave to their American counterparts in advance of sanctions on the Jewish state . The moves are “largely symbolic and will have no material impact on the UK’s wider relationship with Israel on trade and security”, they murmured, according to reporting by Bloomberg . “Britain’s relationship with Israel will continue largely as it is.” So what was the point? Well, the upcoming by-election in Keir Starmer’s old seat of Holborn and St Pancras might have something to do with it. The Labour Government might be sitting on a working majority of 166, but if such a symbolic seat fell to the Greens, it would threaten to demoralise the troops and herald a domino effect. The problem is that this is a strategy of high risk. It’s all very well saying that we don’t mean what we ...
Year of gaffes, controversy and accusations of anti-Semitism brings poll plunge for eco-Leftists Daily Telegraph 02/09/26 The Green Party ’s popularity has plunged to its lowest level ever recorded following Zack Polanski ’s first year as leader. A YouGov poll found the party’s net approval rating had fallen to -23, down 28 points from last August, the last poll before Mr Polanski took over as leader. Mr Polanski, who became leader on Sep 2, 2025, has overseen a tumultuous 12 months for the eco-populist party, which saw it win its first parliamentary by-election and face repeated accusations of anti-Semitism . As leader, Mr Polanski has tripled the party’s membership from 68,000 last September to 230,000 by shifting the party further towards the Left and targeting voters concerned about the conflict in Gaza . This strategy culminated in the party winning the Gorton and Denton by-election in February, where the Greens won over Muslim voters who were urged to “punish Labour ...