Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, is encountering increased calls to step down following his defeat in the Holborn & St Pancras by-election held last week. Polanski finished second, receiving 8,928 votes—about three times the party’s share from the 2024 general election—but was defeated by Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali, the leader of Camden council, who won by a margin of 3,300 votes.
The election outcome has intensified scrutiny of Polanski’s leadership, particularly after his absence from a contentious vote at the party’s recent conference. The vote, which passed, deemed Zionism a form of racism, a motion that ignited significant internal party debate. Polanski, who is Jewish, did not participate in the vote, drawing criticism from senior Green figures who said he failed to provide clear leadership during a pivotal moment.
Caroline Lucas, the party’s first MP and former leader, publicly stated that Polanski did not demonstrate the leadership she expected in opposing the motion, which she described as “flawed from top to bottom” as well as “divisive” and “dangerous.” Speaking to BBC’s Newsnight, Lucas emphasized her disappointment in Polanski’s absence from the vote but stopped short of calling for his resignation, saying, “Let’s see what happens in the coming days and weeks.” She urged him to address the controversy directly, expressing hope he would take a firmer stance moving forward.
On social media platform X, Lucas later acknowledged that Polanski has now expressed some alignment with her concerns regarding the motion and called for party unity to implement necessary reforms to progress.
Despite Lucas’s cautious approach, other party members have pushed more forcefully for Polanski’s departure. Vivien Lichtenstein, leader of the Jewish Greens, accused him of a “dereliction of duty” and said he should relinquish his leadership. Shahrar Ali, a former deputy leader currently suspended from the party, described the by-election loss as “devastating” and linked it to the ongoing antisemitism crisis within the Greens, which he said voters will no longer tolerate.
Within the parliamentary ranks, Sian Berry, MP for Brighton Pavilion, expressed regret over the internal strife following the motion’s passage, suggesting that many Greens felt discouraged from campaigning against it due to the by-election campaign’s demands. Ellie Chowns, MP for North Herefordshire and the party’s parliamentary lead, criticized the vote as exposing “significant flaws” in the Green Party’s democratic processes, noting that only a small fraction of members supported the motion.
Responding to allegations that he had lost control of the party, Polanski rejected the claims, highlighting the party’s growth under his leadership from approximately 55,000 members to 220,000. He underscored the party’s grassroots nature and the entitlement of members to hold divergent views.
As pressure mounts, the Green Party faces calls both for introspection and potential leadership change amid internal divisions over the party’s direction and handling of sensitive issues related to antisemitism and identity politics.