#zack-polanski

#zack-polanski

Since Zack Polanski secured the Green party leadership with an emphatic 85% vote share on an unashamedly leftwing platform, the political consensus has faced its biggest challenge since the defeat of Jeremy Corbyn's Labour. When Polanksi launched his bid in May, the Greens counted 60,000 members. They've now hurtled past 130,000, eclipsing the number of Conservative members. One poll already puts them on 15%, more than double last year's 6.2% and neck-and-neck with Labour.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground.

OK, now they've got your attention. In electing Zack Polanski, a media-friendly former actor with an eye-catching vision for a mass movement of eco-populism, the Greens have taken a step into the unknown. And the first task for Polanski is to bring the party with him. Green leadership contests are generally quite polite. This time it has been different, in part due to the personalities but mainly because of the very different visions on offer.