New Green Party leader aiming to 'reclaim' populism from Farage

The Greens could look to‘align’ with the party being set up by former Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, new leader Zack Polanski has said. If so, it would be another headache for Keir Starmer and Labour. Helen Corbett, David Lynch and Sophie Wingate report

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THE new Green Party leader, Zack Polanski, has said he wants to “reclaim” populism after a landslide victory that will see his party shift its politics to the left.

Mr Polanski, who spoke of wanting to shift the party's politics towards “eco-populism” during the leadership race, could offer a fresh headache to Sir Keir Starmer’s government from the political left.

The new Green leader warned “we are here to replace you” in a message to Labour during his victory speech.

He also hit out at the “charlatans” of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, while acknowledging many voters are drawn to the party as a resuit of feeling “hopeless”.

The London Assembly member later said he wanted to reclaim the word “populist” from Nigel Farage.

“We want to reclaim the word ‘populist; the word ‘patriot, and even the flag.

“I think we need to stop giving these symbols and these ideas to the right just because they shout louder”

He said the Green Party could learn from Reform’s success in storytelling.

“I despise Nigel Farage politics and everything he stands for.

“He takes misinformation and lies and then combines it with a powerful story.

“We will never take misinformation and lies, but what I think we can learn from is the powerful stories, which is why we often see Reform polling at the top”

He later told Sky News that waving the St George’s Cross could be experienced as “intimidation” by some communities during times of heightened tension.