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 for Gaza”.
However, senior figures in the party and Jewish organisations have claimed the swell in membership is an example of “entryism” – the tactic of infiltrating an existing party with the goal of influencing it from within.
The party has been dogged by a campaign from grassroots activists to define Zionism as a form of racism and change party policy so that it would no longer support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mr Polanski has drawn criticism over his failure to condemn the motion put forward by members or deal with a wider rise in anti-Semitism documented within the party. Further questions have arisen over his tax affairs, inflated CV and ever-presence on social media.
Last August, 44 per cent of the public viewed the Greens favourably while 39 per cent viewed the party negatively, according to YouGov.
Its most recent poll from July found just a third of the public (33 per cent) had a favourable opinion while 56 per cent had a negative view. The net score of -23 is the lowest ever recorded by YouGov, which has recorded the Green’s favourability since 2017.
Here, The Telegraph assesses Mr Polanski’s most contentious moments in his first year in charge.
‘Zionism is racism’
In February, The Telegraph revealed Green Party members had tabled a motion ahead of its spring conference that argued Zionism, the Jewish right to self-determination, should be treated as a form of racism. The motion also effectively called for the abolition of Israel arguing the “only viable solution” is a “single” Palestinian state.
The Jewish Greens group warned the motion risked allowing the party to expel “almost any Jew involved in organised communal life”, including Mr Polanski.
The Telegraph later revealed supporters of the motion had described Jewish people as an “abomination to this planet” and said they “murder, bomb and starve” children.
However, Mr Polanski refused to say whether he had taken action against the individuals involved and has failed to clarify whether he agrees with the motion. While it was not voted on at the party’s spring conference due to time constraints, it is expected to return at next month’s annual conference.
Jews have a ‘perception of unsafety’
In April, Mr Polanski was accused of belittling the fears of Jewish people following a wave of anti-Semitic attacks.
Speaking to an Israeli journalist following a firebomb attack in which four ambulances were set on fire outside a synagogue, Mr Polanski said: “There’s a conversation to be had about whether it’s a perception of unsafety or whether it’s actual unsafety, but neither are acceptable.”
Sir Keir Starmer, then the prime minister, said the comments were “disgraceful” and accused Mr Polanski of suggesting Jewish fears were a “perception of reality”. However, the Green leader repeatedly refused to apologise for the remark.
Criticism of police response to Golders Green attack
A week later, Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, accused Mr Polanski of inflaming tensions by criticising officers over their response to the Golders Green terror attacks.
Britain’s most senior police officer said Mr Polanski had shared an “inaccurate and misinformed” social media video which showed officers arresting a knife attacker who had just stabbed two Jewish men.
The post criticised the officers for “repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by Taser”.
Mr Polanski initially doubled down, arguing that the police “should not be above scrutiny”. However he later apologised for “sharing a tweet in haste” amid growing discontent within the party.
False CV claims
In May it emerged that Mr Polanski had exaggerated his accomplishments prior to entering politics. While raising funds for his successful campaign to become deputy leader in 2022, Mr Polanski had falsely claimed to be a spokesman for the British Red Cross.
The investigation by The Times also alleged Mr Polanski was not a full member of National Council of Hypnotherapy, despite him having apparently made such claims to potential clients.
Failure to pay council tax
In May, Mr Polanski admitted he had “made a mistake” by failing to pay council tax while living on a houseboat. The apology came after he spent days claiming he did not need to pay council tax because he only stayed on the boat “occasionally”, which he later admitted was untrue.
Mr Polanski and his partner lived on a houseboat moored in a marina in east London, where they paid no council tax for at least three years. During the time he lived on the boat, he received a taxpayer funded salary of £66,390 as a London assembly member, a position he has held since 2021.
In June, he said he should have taken “greater care” over his tax arrangement but indirectly blamed “financial hardship” suffered under austerity for his failure to pay.
Referred to police over ‘guillotine’ post
One month later, Mr Polanski was referred to the Metropolitan Police by Nigel Farage after sharing a post that appeared to threaten the Reform leader.
Mr Polanski had posted an image of a man wearing a T-shirt with a guillotine graphic alongside the caption: “We’re only making plans for Nigel.”
The photo was shared with his 700,000 Instagram followers as part of a series of images from a Green Party rally in Bristol. Reform UK later accused the Met of “two-tier policing” after deciding to take no further action against the Green leader.
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