Zack Polanski

An Outsider Going Mainstream?

In September, Zack Polanski – a Member of the London Assembly since 2021 – was elected to the Green Party’s top job. His leadership has seen its membership double to more than 150,000 – overtaking those of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

Peter Jukes and Hardeep Matharu spoke to the 43-year-old former actor and hypnotherapist about his decisive new approach to positioning the Greens as a viable party of opposition – and whether it will survive the narrow world of Westminster politics

Peter Jukes: In the last edition of Byline Times, we explored the rise of the ‘politics of feeling’ and how liberalism is in crisis because it has not come up with a new, affirming vision that people can viscerally attach to, now that its central promise of continued ‘progress’ has been disrupted. Alongside New York City’s new Democratic Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, your name came up as somebody who exhibits a kind of joy and presence which is different in this moment. What do you put your growing popularity down to?

Zack Polanski: There’s undoubtedly a problem throughout politics with soundbite politicians and pre-rehearsed lines. One of the most stark recent examples was [Education Secretary] Bridget Phillipson, the day after Mamdani was elected, being asked by Sky News’ Sophy Ridge several times what she thought about him. Bridget claimed at one point that “I don’t follow American politics especially closely” and that she will only “fo