Zack Polanski - Deputy Leader

 

1.      What impact do you think the Green Party's eco-socialist policies have had on the party's growth and how can that be sustained?

500+ Councillors and our best ever result - I think it’s clear that the party is on a very exciting trajectory, and communities love seeing what electing a Green means for them. It’s really important we maintain that and accelerate it further - it’s vital that we win more MPs.

One of the ways we win MPs is by being seen and heard more on the media - and that’s why we really need that break through. We need Greens on the TV and radio all the time speaking clearly and authentically about the changes our society need. A Green New Deal, a Universal Basic Income and Proportional Representation (The game changer that means growth will ultimately be much more sustainable under a fair voting system.)

This is especially important right now – people in our country are facing huge stresses on their lives and this will only increase in coming months. Labour are reverting to Blairite centrism - their solutions won’t address the deep problems neoliberalism causes. Only our policy platform would make our country genuinely fairer and make sure we truly look after those who are most vulnerable – so we must be heard.

2.      The recent Tory by-election defeats suggest the electorate are making their own decisions on strategic voting. How can the Green Party intervene to turn that to its advantage?

It’s clear that many within the Labour party are coming round to Proportional Representation. Over 80% of their members back it - but Keir Starmer is refusing to get involved. We’re a party that believes in collaboration and working for the common good. Labour are refusing to collaborate though - unlike the excellent work with Plaid in Cardiff for instance, that won two council seats - so until they come to the table, I think our best focus is to keep winning Green representation and making the case for environmental, social, racial and economic justice.

3.      What would be your priorities for campaigns outside election periods that would raise our profile in communities, engage our members and attract new ones? How could that be financed?

I tend to argue there is no such thing as being outside of an election period! We need to be continually investing in elections, whether that’s campaigning on the ground or planning and capacity building for ambitious growth. But key to raising our profile is building our story. We need to be bold and clear with our transformational platform. We need our green elected representatives to be seen and heard on the picket lines for instance standing up with workers, at marches and rallies against may of the heinous policies of this Conservative Government and crucially - still doorknocking in their communities. It’s not just an activity for when we want peoples votes - it needs to be genuine engagement all year round.

To finance this, and to achieve our general election aspirations, we need to grow our fundraising capability significantly – at all levels of the party. Focused investment in the staff team and our infrastructure is the key to this.

4.      How can the Party improve the way it communicates its policies to the BAME and white working class?

We need to be in those communities listening to people. We can’t expect people to come to local party meetings where they don’t feel represented - but we must actively be understanding what they want from our party. We need to make sure that we articulate successfully how the values and policies of the Green Party aren’t just solutions to the climate crisis but there’s no environmental justice without social, racial and economic justice too. That can’t just be a slogan - it needs to be a transformative agenda to lift people out of poverty and combat racism and discrimination.

5.      Should the Green Party review its policy on NATO in the light of the current conflict in Ukraine and what would be your approach?

Yes. I think the policy is the right one but it’s clear in the current world context that it’s inappropriately articulated. I’d very much welcome a change to the policy that made it more explicit it’s a long term aspiration. (Worth pointing out that Article 12 of NATO’s own founding charter envisages a situation where the security situation could change so as to make NATO’s role redundant!)

6.      The 24 hours news cycle means that contributions from our spokespeople have to be rapid if they are to be given media space. How can we manage that whilst maintaining democratic accountability?

We definitely need more agility to be able to respond to events. At the same time - members’ democratic right to vote on policy is vital to our party’s ethos and how we work and something I will always uphold - it’s a vital difference to the established parties and a big reason I am a Green.

I think it can go unrecognised just how quickly the leadership have to make judgements on changing events, whilst communicating with the relevant policy bodies and elected Greens, then get sign off from governance bodies to confirm any new position stays within the letter and spirit of Green Party policy.
This process isn’t perfect - I’m sure we can streamline it in a way that keeps democratic oversight and actually expands the number of people and groups that are consulted, but at some level we are always going to need to have trust in our leaders when it comes to responding to the news. That’s why we elect them and why we have regular elections.

7.      Given that some Government policies such as privatisation and reducing rights are a thread crossing different sectors how can spokespeople cooperate on our overall messaging to ensure this is addressed?

I think this is starting to improve already with spokespeople in better communication with each other.  It is vital that none of our policy areas are ever siloed. We’re a holistic party that recognises everything is interconnected - and it’s important that there’s regular check ins with spokespeople to see what work everyone is focusing on.
As a more general point - I’d like to see our members' website upgraded to enable a much better messaging capacity right across the board.

8.      How would you raise the international relevance and profile of the GPEW?

I’ve already been doing a lot of this work as an Assembly Member - I love the internationalism of our party and that we’re a global movement. Examples are that during COP26 I attended a Global Greens event with Caroline Lucas, Natalie Bennett and Green MPs from all around the world.

This year alone I have met in person (by train!) with the Green Mayor of Budapest, Cologne, Ghent, Staadt and with French MPs and the co-leader of the Greens.

And next week I’m welcoming Jamie Parker MP - one of the Australian Greens to City Hall.

9.      The Green Party has recently encountered difficulties in maintaining a respectful and comradely debate on issues where there has been sharp disagreement. What would be your approach to improving the atmosphere in which these debates take place?

We’ve got to be clear about where our red lines are and our policies are very clear. We are a party that engages in debate and complex discussion. We’re not a party that will tolerate discrimination or offensive hate speech.
I really admire the work Amelia Womack has been doing around “Always Learning” which is encouraging conversations with people with lived experience to describe their perspectives - and answer questions. As Deputy Leader I would want to see this kind of work continue.

As a former local party chair I also know there’s lots of work that can be done around facilitation training in local party meetings, how to create a kinder and more inclusive space.

10.   How can we ensure a level playing field in internal elections when some candidates have the advantage of access to a national platform and networks?

As the candidate in an elected role - I’m really proud of the work I do as a London Assembly Member, as Chair of the Environment Committee and as the spokesperson for Democracy & Citizen Engagement.

I think when people are achieving wins in their roles as elected Green representatives - then that makes them good, experienced candidates to be in national leadership positions.

I think it’s vital to always keep the all members’ email and independently organised hustings. The candidate statements and so on should be within a low spending limit so that the contest isn’t a matter of who can raise the most funds and so that there’s a large aspect of the contest where the candidates can be directly compared.