Original title: Ex-actor Zack Polanski’s unusual path to become Green Party’s new leader
Ex-actor Zack Polanski’s unusual path to become Green Party’s new leader Zack Polanski has stormed to victory in the Green Party leadership election on a platform promising bold communication and “eco-populism”. The new leader said he would now “take the fight to Labour”, telling Sir Keir Starmer’s party: “We are here to replace you.” While he’s made a name for himself as a feisty media performer among the party faithful, he’s little known outside the London Assembly, where he is an elected member. Beating two of the party’s four MPs to the leadership, the 42-year-old has already faced down the charge that he doesn’t have the establishment heft of those elected to Parliament in a first-past-the-post system. His pitch to the membership was to move away from the tried-and-tested, with a decisive shunt to the left and a more confrontational communication style. Polanski has had an unconventional path to politics, previously working as an actor, hypnotherapist and mental health counsellor.