Compass congratulates Zack Polanski on being elected leader of the Green Party. Winning by five to one against effective opponents shows the appetite for change and great radicalism in the Party.
We’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with Zack Polanski on the Basic Income Conversation, hosted at City Hall. This included co-authoring a paper entitled ‘Involving Londoners in a basic income pilot’. He’s also appeared on our podcast, ‘It’s Bloody Complicated‘.
The Green Party really matters to the future of progressive politics. Because they are more radical, Greens can and do push the boundaries of our politics in terms of both content and culture. Having worked hard for decades, they are a political force on the ground in many places with over 800 councillors across the country and, of course, now four Members of Parliament. And let’s not forget their biggest focus: our environment and nature, two of the biggest concerns of humanity.
Any party that acts as a countervailing force to the alarming drift towards nationalistic populism is to be welcomed and supported. Green parties the world over such as in New Zealand, Germany, and Austria have proven that they can speak to a broad demographic of people and find support nationwide. It is time for this here. This is a defining moment for environmental and progressive politics and we need the party to be as influential as possible.
But now comes the hard part: actually leading after a sometimes acrimonious contest and in the most testing political times.
The next meeting of Compass Greens takes place at 6pm on Thursday 25th September. We will be joined by former Green Party co-chair and Friends of the Earth founder, Sir Jonathon Porritt. You can sign up here.
The nature of this leadership election has sometimes been concerning to watch. Instead of good natured, open debate about the future direction of the party in which conversations were held in good faith, these debates sometimes descended into too much heat between candidates and not always enough light. It felt personal, not just political.
The clear political difference between the candidates was Zack’s focus on more radical eco-populism likely to appeal to voters in the big cities, and Adrian and Ellie’s concerns to represent more rural, ‘small-C conservative’ Green voters and seats. Progressives need the Greens to win against the Right in these kind of seats, just as Adrian and Ellie did, coming from way behind the pack to win. That is the way we get less Tories. The answer for a truly powerful future Green Party is not to be one or the other but to work out how to navigate the complexities of both green perspectives and needs – building into one package radical and rural Greens.
This could have been done if a joint ticket between one of Adrian and Ellie could have been spliced together with Zack, but that moment is gone. Now the issue is reconciliation, both personally and politically. Zack has the clear mandate to achieve this and we know he will lead with generosity and openness.
Managing the divide between leadership in Parliament and the new elected leader of the party is not going to make things easy. Unity, cohesion and a progressive policy agenda are the critical actions for the party now. If success is to be achieved, both wings of the party and all the leading actors will be instrumental in that.
There is also the pressing question of how the Greens work with and deal with the other parties on the progressive side of the spectrum. The most immediate question is how they deal with Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s start-up left-populist party. Again, this won’t be easy. The two parties are appealing to many of the same radical left voters in the same seats. It will be a disaster if they merely split the vote. But how are they to negotiate when and where to stand? Obviously this question also needs to be put to the new left party.
But while a deal on the Left is necessary it is insufficient. British politics is shaping up into two equally sized blocks on the Left and the Right. The Right, however, are made-up of only two parties and any backroom deal by their leaders to focus resources on the 202 seats where their votes outnumbered the Labour victor in 2024 could devastatingly unite the right and see them in government.
On the progressive side, the increasing question is how not just the Greens and ‘Your Party’ form an alliance but how the whole of the centre and the Left can be mobilised to stop Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister. This, in turn, is a question for Labour and how it must become both more progressive and more plural if it is to play a meaningful role in challenging national populism and not handing the keys to Number 10 to Farage by aping him.
This is the context in which Zack Polanski becomes leader of the party. We wish him well. He has a huge and well earned mandate. He must now use it wisely. Compass is here to work with him, all Greens and all progressives to achieve together what is impossible apart.
The ability of human beings to achieve outstanding feats arises from our ability to cooperate. Human activity has changed and despoiled the earth and through cooperation we can change it for the better. Working together we create a powerful force. Witness ancient sites like Carnac, Avebury, Stonehenge, the pyramids, the Mayan temples etc. Built by people working together, and not a single JCB in sight! Creating divisions in society will lead to our destruction. Basically we all want the same things in life, happiness and wellbeing, and yet are continually provoked by politicians whose main aim appears to be to divide and rule and to point score off each other in parliament, shameful behaviour by adults! We are all in the ‘same boat’ and need to agree on the direction of travel if we are to secure our destination. Its curious that when fighting for freedom people work together. But when faced with a threat of shortage its everyone for themselves, as they hoard toilet paper and pasta! So how are we going to present the very real threat of climate change and environmental destruction? Or will people just rack up as many flights as possible while they still can? Fiddling while Rome burns? So more cooperation and less division but please not another pandemic and lock down. The secret to Party success is, as always, to throw ‘a better Party’. One with more fun, more vibrancy and better music! That is simply how Boris got in as PM but sadly he was in it for the money and the kudos. You can do better.