Zack Polanski to stay on as Green leader as crticism mounts

In private, plenty of longstanding Green figures remain frustrated and accuse Polanski of being “missing in action” over the motion.

They say the result is an untenable situation where he leads a party whose policy on the Middle East he disagrees with.

“He is in danger of losing the confidence of both wings,” one critic pointed out, referring to how some supporters of the motion have now been left irritated too by Polanski’s refusal to publicly back them.

But given the legions of members who have joined the party since he became leader, and his popularity among the grassroots, he may be safe from a leadership challenge in the near future.

Jonathan Bartley, the Green co-leader from 2016 to 2021, called on Polanski to “put his hands up” and “say sorry” – but did not demand he quit.

“I think [the vote] was a failure of leadership from Zack and there is a certain toxicity now from the Green Party,” he told BBC Radio 4’s World at One.

Bartley said the Green brand “needs to be detoxified”, adding the party had seen an influx in members that have “maybe come from the left of the Labour Party, maybe from [Jeremy Corbyn’s] Your Party” but “we’re losing some older voters”.

The Green leader has faced days of pressure over the Zionism motion. Four of the five Green MPs and one of the party’s two deputy leaders opposed it, the Green deputy in Wales and some councillors resigned, while some local members and the European Green Party have distanced themselves from it.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called on Polanski to reverse the “completely wrong” motion to avoid it remaining party policy or making it into the next election manifesto.

Meanwhile, Labour chair Bridget Phillipson drew comparisons between her party’s previous antisemitism scandal, telling BBC Breakfast she felt the Greens now face a “serious problem” with antisemitism.

Polanski has said anti-Zionism and antisemitism are distinct from each other and said nobody will be excluded from the party on the basis of their faith, place of worship or religious body.