Greens Polanski has edge in race to be leader, insiders say

Zack Polanski, the insurgent candidate for Green party leader whose "eco-populism" and social media savvy have upended the race, is starting to pull away from his more established rivals, senior figures believe.

- Peter Walker

There is a growing expectation that the election will be won by the 42-year-old former Liberal Democrat, who appears to have seized the initiative from his opponents. One likened it to a "hostile takeover".

The comment relates to an apparent influx of new left-leaning members in local areas, attracted by Polanski's modern communications approach and more pugnacious style. It has left his nearest opponents, Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns, struggling to gain traction.

Voting by members continues throughout August, and without any interim polling any views are necessarily anecdotal. But a series of Green politicians, speaking anonymously, say Polanski is making waves among the grassroots.

Ramsay and Chowns are largely seen as the choice of the party establishment, including the former leader Caroline Lucas, but Polanski has also picked up endorsements.

One of his backers is Caroline Russell, the Green leader on the London assembly, where he also sits.