Greens can move Labour in the right direction, says Polanski

Green Party leader Zack Polanski used his autumn conference in Brighton to argue that a vote for the Greens can compel Labour, now led by Andy Burnham, to shift its policies in a more progressive direction. He claimed that sustained pressure from his party had already forced Labour to modify its stance on climate issues and its approach to Israel, and he urged voters to back the Greens to keep that momentum going. Polanski highlighted Labour’s failure on housing, proposing a three‑year “emergency brake” that would cap private‑sector rent increases at the lowest of CPI inflation, wage growth, or 2 percent, and warned that only a Green vote could make Labour act. He also pledged that the Greens would not hesitate to tax “extreme wealth” through a windfall tax on back‑profits, positioning the party as the catalyst for change.

The speech placed Labour’s record on the cost‑of‑living crisis and housing at the centre of the Greens’ critique, accusing the party of offering “slogans without action” and of being beholden to developers and large landlords. Polanski linked the Greens’ pressure to a recent emergency COBR meeting called by Burnham amid record‑breaking heat and drought, suggesting that the party’s influence had forced the government to confront climate emergencies. He also drew a stark line on oil and gas, warning that the summer’s wildfires should be the “final nail in the coffin” for new licences, even as Burnham left open the possibility of approving the Rosebank oil field and Jackdaw gas field despite Labour’s manifesto pledge not to issue new licences.

Polanski’s address also touched on internal party debates, notably a motion to redefine Zionism as a form of racism and to endorse a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine. While senior figures such as deputy leader Rachel Millward have called the motion “problematic,” Polanski declined to state his support for its current wording, instead calling for amendments that would protect Jewish members who attend synagogues and replace the call for a single Palestinian state with a pledge for a lasting settlement guaranteeing equal rights, to be shaped by Palestinians themselves. The conference celebrated a surge in Green membership and the hundreds of council seats won in May’s local elections, but the looming vote on the Zionism motion could expose divisions within the party as it seeks to leverage its growing influence to steer Labour policy.

⚡ Effects Interpreter