Zack Polanski’s sweeping victory as leader of the Green party opens significant opportunities for the Greens and the left more generally, as both the Guardian editorial (2 September) and George Monbiot recognise (Labour has succeeded only in strengthening Farage. The way is now open for Zack Polanski’s Greens, 3 September).
Polanski himself lays out his core policy story and says his party’s “central mission” is to turn its 40 second-place finishes in 2024 into Green MPs at the next election (This is the Green party’s moment – not Farage’s. As leader, I’ll offer real solutions to Britain’s problems, 2 September). But to get there he has to build popular movements and shed populist slogans. He’ll have to choose between grandiose rhetoric and realistic politics.
