Zack Polanski has been under growing scrutiny ahead of the local elections in which the Green Party of England and Wales, which he leads, is expected to make major gains.
On the eve of polling day on Wednesday he gave his last big media interview of the campaign, speaking to ITV’s Peston, where he laid out his pitch to voters.
Polanski also addressed a number of controversies which have attached themselves to him and his party – here we fact-check his main claims.
Red Cross role
Polanski claimed to be a “spokesperson” for the British Red Cross when he was standing to be the Greens’ deputy leader – but the charity has insisted he never held that role.
He told Peston: “I hosted events for the British Red Cross. I would go on stage with them with a set of points they would want me to make around protecting refugees, around the amazing work they do with dealing with conflict zones and also in fact the climate crisis in this country. This was in 2016. I accept that the British Red Cross cannot have a spokesperson who is in a political party, so they need to have that distinction.”
There is no dispute that Polanski did raise funds for the British Red Cross, but the charity itself told The Times this week that he “has not been a spokesperson”. Polanski has also admitted he was not a spokesman.
Golders Green policing
Polanski has apologised for wrongly claiming that the suspect accused of a stabbing attack in Golders Green last week was “handcuffed” in a video which showed him being kicked by police officers.
He had previously been under fire for reposting a tweet which criticised the police for continuing to kick the man while he was on the floor.
Defending himself on Peston, Polanksi said: “Well, he was tasered and immobile and with his face down. And again, I think when you’re being honest, when things are moving quickly, again, you will make mistakes.”
It is true that the man had been tasered by officers and was lying on the ground, but the police have insisted it was necessary to continue trying to force him to drop the knife he was still holding at the time.
Antisemitism cases
The Green leader says he has no involvement in decisions over whether to expel party members who are accused of antisemitism or other breaches of internal rules. Two candidates have been arrested for allegedly posting anti-semitic remarks on social media.
Polanski told Peston: “We’re a decentralised party where the leadership doesn’t have any say over the disciplinary process.”
Disciplinary cases are dealt with by an elected committee of party members. It is usually accepted that over time, the stance taken by a party leader has a strong influence over how its rules are interpreted even if the leader has no direct influence over individual cases.
Israel Gaza conflict
Polanski declined to affirm that the state of Israel has a right to exist, telling Peston: “I don’t believe any country has a right to exist. People have a right to exist. The Israelis have a right to exist. The Palestinians have a right to exist.”
Green policy is clear, however, that there should be a Palestinian state – which appears to clash with the leader’s position.
The party’s last general election manifesto called for “recognition of the state of Palestine and an urgent international effort to end the illegal occupation of Palestinian land”.
It also called for: “A durable political solution that ensures security and equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.”
UK involvement in Gaza
Polanski claimed that the UK Government had a policy to “continue to arm a genocidal apartheid state”, a reference to the contested argument that Israel’s military operations in Gaza constitute a genocide.
It is true that British arms companies sell weaponry to Israel, and require a licence to do so from the Government.
But the Government does not itself directly arm the Israeli military, and has repeatedly called for an end to the war in Gaza. It has also suspended some arms licences to Israel which it said could be “used in violations of International Humanitarian Law” in Gaza.
Asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees
Polanski told Peston: “The amount of people since 2018 coming over on small boats is less in terms of the asylum seekers than the refugees we have housed, quite rightly, for the Homes for Ukraine scheme. This shows when we make political choices, we can save lives and actually show compassion.”
Around 200,000 people have entered the UK by crossing the English Channel on a small boat. At least 267,000 visas have been issued under two different programmes which allow Ukrainian citizens to live in Britain while their country is under invasion by Russia.
One crucial difference is that not all small boat migrants are genuine asylum seekers, and by definition they are travelling to the UK from a country – France or Belgium – which is safe to live in, rather than coming directly from somewhere dangerous.
Reform’s tax policy
Polanski claimed that Reform UK “want to give tax breaks to their billionaire mates”.
It is true that Reform is generally in favour of cutting taxes, including for the wealthiest, although the party has not set out in detail the fiscal policies it would pursue if elected.
Reform also has a number of billionaire donors, although they all say they are supporting the party out of political conviction rather than in the hope of a policy which favours their own finances.