Zack Polanski was fighting for his political future last night after suffering a humiliating defeat in a by-election.
Senior Green Party figures questioned his leadership after Labour won the contest for Sir Keir Starmer’s former constituency of Holborn and St Pancras.
The result capped a turbulent week for the Green Party, which passed a controversial “Zionism is racism” motion that critics said effectively called for Israel’s destruction.
The chairman of the Jewish Greens called for Mr Polanski to resign, accusing him of a “dereliction of duty”. Robin Harper, the former Scottish Green leader, also told the Mail that Mr Polanski was a “chancer” who should step down.
The motion was passed by a small number of activists after Mr Polanski urged party members to leave their conference in Brighton last weekend and support his ultimately unsuccessful by-election campaign.
Defending his decision to leave and therefore miss the vote, Mr Polanski told the BBC’s Nick Robinson that he had been campaigning in “one of the most important elections in our recent history”, adding that voters had said they wanted to see him “on the ground”.
However, Brighton Green MP Sian Berry said that “many of us” had been “persuaded” to keep their concerns about the motion private while the party leader concentrated on winning votes in north London.
In a statement, Ms Berry wrote: “On the motion, I voted and argued against it because I felt it needed serious amendment, and if not then sending back for more dialogue or voting down. But the clash of conference with an exciting and mobilising by-election campaign meant many of us were persuaded not to campaign publicly for these ends.”
Zack Polanski at the Holborn and St Pancras by-election count on Friday morning. The Green Party leader’s humiliating defeat has raised fresh questions about his political future
Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali celebrates her by-election victory. Mr Polanski had insisted he could defeat Labour as polls closed on Thursday, but he ultimately finished more than 3,000 votes behind
The Green Party has been reported to both the police and the equalities watchdog over concerns about anti-Semitism following the passage of the motion.
Mr Polanski had maintained that he could beat Labour as polls closed on Thursday. But he eventually finished more than 3,000 votes behind Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali.
Despite the defeat, Mr Polanski said yesterday that he was “absolutely” determined to remain Green Party leader.
That position was nevertheless questioned by senior Green figures and party veterans.
Appearing on the BBC’s Newsnight, Caroline Lucas, the former Green MP and party leader, said Mr Polanski “should have been there and he should have voted” in Brighton. She added: “I would have hoped that he would have really been a very strong critic of this motion because the motion was flawed from top to bottom in my view. It is dangerous, it is divisive.”
Asked whether he should continue as leader, she replied: “Let’s see what happens in the coming days and weeks.”
Mr Polanski, who is of Jewish descent, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he would not have supported the “Zionism is racism” motion, saying there were “aspects of it that I don’t think are OK”.
However, when asked five times whether Israel had a right to exist, he declined to give a yes-or-no answer. Instead, he said: “I want to see equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians, but at the moment Palestinians don’t have equal rights.”
He also suggested that he would support the policy being overturned or amended “at the earliest possible opportunity”.
Pro-Palestine supporters at the Green Party conference in Brighton. The by-election defeat came at the end of a chaotic week for the leader, during which the party passed a controversial “Zionism is racism” motion that critics said effectively called for Israel’s destruction
Green Party grandee and former leader Caroline Lucas raised doubts about Mr Polanski’s future as leader of her party
When asked whether Mr Polanski should resign, former Scottish Greens leader Mr Harper said: ‘He should never have been in the post in the first place, but yes.’
‘I was surprised, and to tell the truth, slightly shocked by how quickly he rose up the ranks; how people seemed to jump aboard his ship without thinking anything other than that he’s a brilliant speaker. But he’s a chancer.’
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting added: ‘The Greens’ position seems to be that racism against Jewish people is OK because they oppose Israel. I admire the Green members fighting to get their party back, but we should be in no doubt about the moral failure of their leaders. It is shocking and must be opposed.’
And Steve Reed, housing secretary under Mr Starmer, told the Daily Mail: ‘Zack Polanski has facilitated the anti-Semites coming in and taking over his party.’
YouGov polling last night revealed a third of Britons now believe Mr Polanski should step down as leader, with just a fifth backing him to remain.
A Green Party spokesman said: ‘Unlike other parties, the Green Party does not whip MPs and is not top-down in nature. No one issues instructions to prominent members on internal matters.
‘There were always going to be many views and discussions about how to handle campaigning and communications around this motion and each member can and does speak for themselves freely.’
READ MORE: DAN HODGES: This by-election was a humiliation for Polanski and a massive boost for Burnham – it’s now a matter of when, not if, the PM calls a snap election
READ MORE: Greens labelled ‘first openly anti-Semitic party in the UK’ as members approve Zionism is Racism motion – but leader Polanski skips vote
