Zack Polanski

Last week, Zack Polanski, a 42-year-old gay Jewish vegan, became leader of the Green party with a promise to turn it into a leftwing version of Reform UK.

- Andrew Anthony

Back in the UK, he worked in community theatre before his turn as a hypnotherapist. He may need all his theatrical and hypnotic powers to transform some of his convictions into popular policy.

The Greens have long supported unilateral nuclear disarmament, but, even with eastern Europe under threat from an increasingly bellicose Russia, Polanski also wants to see the UK withdraw from Nato and an alternative arrangement of "peace and diplomacy". Slaughter says Trump has changed everything by threatening to invade another Nato territory (Greenland), but that Polanski isn't calling for the UK to leave Nato just yet. So after Trump has left office? "This is the moment, perhaps, for Europe to form a European defence alliance," Slaughter says. It would mean far more defence spending. Is Polanski in favour of that?

"We're in favour of spending more on peace," says Slaughter.

Then there's freedom of expression and growing public resentment of policing tweets rather than streets. Last week, Polanski approved the arrest by five armed policemen of the comedy writer and gender critical activist Graham Linehan for three unpleasant tweets, describing it as "proportionate". A more vocal stance on such positions might attract support in some urban constituencies - Polanski lives in Hackney - but, during the leadership campaign, Ramsay and Chowns warned it would alienate voters in rural seats like their own.

Polanski clearly believes that the party's growth lies in Labour-held cities and towns rather than the Tory countryside. If he's right, the polls will look very bleak indeed for the government.

Back in May, after a poor showing in the local council elections, a government minister spoke of Labour's good fortune that the Greens were useless: "If they had any kind of charismatic or populist leadership we'd be eight to 10 points further down in the polls."