In an interview with theIndependent, published 9 January, Green Party leader Zack Polanski indicated that his party would be open to a pact with Labour to thwart the far-right Reform UK. However, there’s a catch.
Polanski stated — in no uncertain terms — that he is unwilling to work alongside Keir Starmer or his other Labour-right cronies. However, if the party took on more left-wing leadership, the Greens would be open to an electoral alliance.
In fact, the Green leader predicted dire consequences should his party align itself with the new-new Labour:
Under no circumstances could I see a scenario where I’d want to work with Labour led by Keir Starmer.
All I think working with Keir Starmer would do is create an even worse [version of] Nigel Farage down the track.
Regarding his distaste for the current PM, Polanski pointed to Starmer’s purge of socialists from Labour’s ranks, calling him:
the first Labour leader in history that’s wanted to destroy his own progressive coalition.
Likewise, Zack also spoke about his party welcoming the spurned Labour left:
I think those people have realised in increasing numbers that their home is in the Green Party. That’s why I say we’re not here to be disappointed by Labour or concerned by Labour. We’re here to replace Labour.
Zack Polanski: Streeting or Mahmood? No thank you
Given the recent speculation about potential replacements for the deeply unpopular Keir Starmer as Labour leader, Polanski also offered comment on other potential leaders who have earned his party’s scorn.
In particular, he singled out health secretary Wes Streeting and home secretary Shabana Mahmood as further examples of Starmer’s ilk.
On his distaste for Streeting, Polanski cited the health secretary’s betrayals of NHS doctors in the pay disputes:
He [Wes Streeting] is showing his true colours. Where are they taking the fight over multi-millionaires or billionaires or taxing wealth? No, they’re taking it to the doctors who have received a cut in real terms over the last 17 years.
Not only has Streeting not negotiated with them in a fair, transparent way, he’s also resorted to name-calling in public. That’s not someone I can imagine myself working with.
On the subject of Mahmood, Zack spoke out against her ever-increasing hostility towards both immigrants and Palestine Action supporters:
Shabana Mahmood is someone who has actively fuelled the anti-migrant rhetoric that was started with Reform but seems to be finished by this Labour Party.
Potential allies, then?
Ok, so definitely not Starmer, Streeting or Mahmood. We at the Canary would certainly agree — useless right-wing stooges, the lot of them. That being said though, who could Polanski see the Greens forming a pact with?
On the subject of potential allies, Zack named both Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and ex-deputy PM Angela Rayner. He explained:
Andy Burnham probably is the outlier, but I can’t see a scenario where he could get back into parliament whilst we have the control ‘freakery’ of this Labour government.
Likewise, on Rayner, Polanski stated that:
I feel it would be easier to work with someone like [former deputy prime minister] Angela Rayner, but it’s not for me to decide whether she’s lost public trust.
Angela Rayner, I think, has been tarnished by her previous role in this Labour government, where we had children being pushed into poverty.
It would be very easy here to start listing the problems with Burnham and Rayner in response. In fact, Canarycolleague Willem Moore listed several in an article back in November:
- She defended the wretched disability cuts which the government had to u-turn on.
- While she’s likely to win the support of the unions, her record on that front isn’t spotless.
- Rayner was embroiled in the donation scandals which marked the start of Starmer’s government.
However, that same article was titled:
Angela Rayner for PM? At least she isn’t Wes Streeting…
And therein lies the rub, doesn’t it?
‘Replace Labour’
After Polanski’s election as Green leader, the party saw a massive boost in both support and membership. However, according the most recent YouGov polls, the Greens are still slightly behind Labour in terms of voting intention. More to the point, they’re currently trailing Reform by some 11 percentage points.
We at the Canaryhave made no secret of the fact that we’d like the government in left-wing hands, like those of the Greens or Your Party. However, in a choice between Farage and (specifically) a more-leftist Labour in alliance with the Greens, I know which one I’d pick, at the very least.
However, for now, Zack Polanski has stated that the plan is to fill the left-wing role that Labour has clearly abandoned:
I think the Green Party can absolutely lead the left, and I will play my part in that as leader of the Green Party.
And, more to the point, the Green leader plans “to replace Labour, not work with them”. Now that, we can definitely get behind.
Featured image via the Canary
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