'People are feeling hope - perhaps for the first time' Greens eye more city seats at next election

THEY came in their hundreds, having eagerly snapped up the tickets within three hours of them going on sale.

- Tristan CORK

Green Party leader Zack Polanski speaking to party faithful at St George's

(Pic: Paul Gillis)

No, this wasn’t the latest pop star at the 02 in Bristol, or the latest musical premiere at the Hippodrome, but the newest leader of a political party - Zack Polanski - who took over the Green Party at the start of September and has seen its membership almost triple in the two months since.

At St George's Bristol at the start of this week, local Green MP Carla Denyer - the previous co-leader Polanski took over from - was on the stage, along with climate justice activist Dominique Palmer, but Polanski was the star attraction and tickets for the rally sold out within three hours.

His appearance was greeted with whoops and cheers, every pause in his speech sparked a round of applause.

His final address brought a standing ovation.

For the longstanding Green Party members of Bristol, and for the newbies, this appears to be the Green surge they have been waiting for, following the 2024 surge that saw them win effective control of City Hall, elect Bristol’s first Green MP and finish second in all the other Westminster seats in the city.

Since September, the Green Party say its membership has gone through the roof. Nationally, it has gone from around 68,000 on the day Polanski was elected leader to well over 150,000 before the end of October.