Zack Polanski was last night fighting for his political future after suffering a humiliating by-election defeat.
Senior Green figures cast doubts over his position as leader after he lost to Labour in the battle for Sir Keir Starmer‘s former seat of Holborn and St Pancras.
The loss topped off a chaotic week for the leader in which the party passed a controversial ‘Zionism is racism’ motion, effectively calling for the destruction of Israel.
The chairman of the Jewish Greens called on Mr Polanski to resign yesterday, accusing him of a ‘dereliction of duty’. And Robin Harper, the former Scottish Green leader, told the Mail Mr Polanski is a ‘chancer’ who must step down.
A small number of activists passed the motion after Mr Polanski asked members to leave their conference in Brighton last weekend to support his doomed by-election campaign.
Defending leaving, and so dodging the vote, he insisted to the BBC‘s Nick Robinson he had been fighting ‘one of the most important elections in our recent history and people in that election said they wanted to see me on the ground’.
Brighton Green MP Sian Berry, however, revealed ‘many of us’ had been ‘persuaded’ to hide concerns over the motion while their leader was chasing votes in north London.
In a statement, Ms Berry wrote: ‘On the motion, I voted and argued against it because I felt it needed serious amendment, and if not then sending back for more dialogue or voting down. But the clash of conference with an exciting and mobilising by-election campaign meant many of us were persuaded not to campaign publicly for these ends.’
Zack Polanski at the Holborn and St Pancras by-election count on Friday morning. The Green Party leader’s humiliating defeat has brought into question his political future
Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali celebrates her by-election victory. Mr Polanski insisted he could defeat Labour as polls closed on Thursday, but he eventually trailed in more than 3,000 votes
The Greens have been reported to both the police and the equalities watchdog over anti-Semitism concerns after the motion passed.
Mr Polanski insisted he could defeat Labour as polls closed on Thursday, but he eventually trailed in more than 3,000 votes behind Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali.
Mr Polanski insisted yesterday he was ‘absolutely’ going to remain as leader following the defeat.
But Green Party grandees and veterans yesterday raised doubts.
Speaking to the BBC’s Newsnight, Caroline Lucas, a former MP and leader of the Greens, said ‘he should have been there and he should have voted’ in Brighton, adding: ‘I would have hoped that he would have really been a very strong critic of this motion because the motion was flawed from top to bottom in my view. It is dangerous, it is divisive.’
Asked if he should carry on as leader, she said: ‘Let’s see what happens in the coming days and weeks.’
Mr Polanski, who is of Jewish descent, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he would not have voted for the ‘Zionism is racism’ motion because there were ‘aspects of it that I don’t think are OK’. But asked five times if Israel had a right to exist, he declined to answer. Refusing to say yes or no, he said: ‘I want to see equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians, but at the moment Palestinians don’t have equal rights.’
And he suggested he would support the policy being overturned or amended ‘at the earliest possible opportunity’.
Pro-Palestine supporters at the Green Party conference in Brighton. The loss topped off a chaotic week for the leader in which the party passed a controversial ‘Zionism is racism’ motion, effectively calling for the destruction of Israel
Green Party grandee and former leader Caroline Lucas raised doubts about Mr Polanski’s future as leader of her party
When asked whether Mr Polanski should resign, former Scottish Greens leader Mr Harper said: ‘He should never have been in the post in the first place, but yes.’
‘I was surprised, and to tell the truth, slightly shocked by how quickly he rose up the ranks; how people seemed to jump aboard his ship without thinking anything other than that he’s a brilliant speaker. But he’s a chancer.’
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting added: ‘The Greens’ position seems to be that racism against Jewish people is OK because they oppose Israel. I admire the Green members fighting to get their party back, but we should be in no doubt about the moral failure of their leaders. It is shocking and must be opposed.’
And Steve Reed, housing secretary under Mr Starmer, told the Daily Mail: ‘Zack Polanski has facilitated the anti-Semites coming in and taking over his party.’
YouGov polling last night revealed a third of Britons now believe
Mr Polanski should step down as leader, with just a fifth backing him to remain.
A Green Party spokesman said: ‘Unlike other parties, the Green Party does not whip MPs and is not top-down in nature. No one issues instructions to prominent members on internal matters.
‘There were always going to be many views and discussions about how to handle campaigning and communications around this motion and each member can and does speak for themselves freely.’
