Zack Polanski delivered his speech to Green Party conference on Friday (Alamy)
3 min read02 October
Zack Polanski has urged people to keep voting for the Greens to force Labour into more left-wing positions.
“Vote Green and watch Labour move,” the party leader said in his conference speech in Brighton on Friday.
Polanski is hoping to defeat Labour in the by-election to succeed former prime minister Keir Starmer in the London constituency of Holborn and St Pancras next week.
The Greens have performed well in the capital in recent months after enjoying a surge in popularity when Polanski first took over last year. However, Labour sources are confident that their candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali will win on Thursday.
Polanski is facing questions about how he will combat Labour now that it is under the leadership of Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Labour’s polling has improved significantly since Burnham replaced Starmer in No 10 this summer, while the ratings of both Polanski and the Greens have dipped.
Polanski used his speech to urge Green members to keep the pressure on Labour, arguing that their electoral threat has forced the government to change position on several occasions.
“Through our sustained pressure – and our historic wins – we have held the worst instincts of the Labour government in check. And we have started to move them in the right direction,” the London Assembly Member said.
Polanski pointed to examples such as Gaza, where pressure on Labour has forced the government to change direction.
Speaking at Labour conference in Liverpool, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said that “political pressure” played a part in the government moving to a harder stance on the Israeli government’s conduct in Gaza.
The Green leader said there were still plenty of issues on which the party could push Labour further, including on climate action and energy bills.
On climate change, Polanski said that the “silence” around extreme heat “shocked him the most” this summer as wildfires spread across the country.
“The silence from our government. From the people whose first duty is to keep us safe.”
“This summer’s fires should have been the final nail in the coffin for new oil and gas. We know that drilling for new fossil fuels won’t bring down bills. We know it won’t make us more secure. And we know that it locks us into a hotter, more dangerous climate. And we say no. No more fossil fuel extraction – and a clean energy revolution, now.”
Polanski had previously faced criticism for not focusing on the environment since taking over as leader around a year ago.
Former leader Caroline Lucas told The House magazine earlier this year that she would “love” for Polanski to spend more time talking about the environment.