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| Zack Polanski ‘open to’ working with new Corbyn and Sultana party | |
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| Green leadership candidate says any decision on alliance would be one for party members | |
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| Zack Polanski, the Green party leadership candidate, has said he may be willing to cooperate with a new leftwing party led by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, after calls for the two groups to form an alliance. | Zack Polanski, the Green party leadership candidate, has said he may be willing to cooperate with a new leftwing party led by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, after calls for the two groups to form an alliance. |
| Polanski emphasised that any decision would be for Green members, and would depend on the eventual form of the as yet unnamed party, which currently does not officially exist. | |
| His comments to the Guardian open up a divide with his competitors for the leadership, Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns, who have warned against the Greens becoming “a Jeremy Corbyn support act”. | His comments to the Guardian open up a divide with his competitors for the leadership, Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns, who have warned against the Greens becoming “a Jeremy Corbyn support act”. |
| A day after Corbyn and Sultana jointly launched a website for people to register interest, with the interim title of Your Party, a leftwing campaign group called for it to seek a formal alliance with the Greens in England and Wales. | |
| We Deserve Better, which argues for electoral pacts on the left, said a united ticket for the Greens and the new party had the potential to unseat dozens of Labour MPs, whereas both running could split the vote. | We Deserve Better, which argues for electoral pacts on the left, said a united ticket for the Greens and the new party had the potential to unseat dozens of Labour MPs, whereas both running could split the vote. |
| Polanski, the Greens’ deputy leader, has built his push for the leadership around the idea of making the party a mass-membership “eco-populism” organisation that could take on not only Labour but also Reform UK. | |
| “I’m open to working with anyone who’s up for challenging the far-right threat of Reform and this unpopular Labour government,” he said. | |
| “Exactly what this might possibly look like with regard to any sort of arrangement is a bridge I’ll cross further down the line and will be in the hands of Green party members. The new party doesn’t exist yet, and 2029 is some way off. | “Exactly what this might possibly look like with regard to any sort of arrangement is a bridge I’ll cross further down the line and will be in the hands of Green party members. The new party doesn’t exist yet, and 2029 is some way off. |
| “If anyone’s looking for a leftwing vehicle for power and change in this country, the Greens are here right now, we’re surging, we have well established party infrastructure and we have hundreds of elected representatives across the country. Join us.” | “If anyone’s looking for a leftwing vehicle for power and change in this country, the Greens are here right now, we’re surging, we have well established party infrastructure and we have hundreds of elected representatives across the country. Join us.” |
| Given the Greens’ heavily decentralised structure and the limited powers of the leader or leaders, even if Polanski won and then sought a pact it would not necessarily happen. | Given the Greens’ heavily decentralised structure and the limited powers of the leader or leaders, even if Polanski won and then sought a pact it would not necessarily happen. |
| Ramsay and Chowns are two of the Greens’ four MPs, and both represent rural constituencies where the main challengers were previously Conservatives – areas likely to be much less amenable to an association with Corbyn. | |
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| Responding on Thursday to news of the new party, Chowns said that the introductory statement from Corbyn and Sultana gave “only a passing glance to the climate crisis”, adding: “Any party that does not have climate and environment front and centre is part of the old politics, not the new.” | Responding on Thursday to news of the new party, Chowns said that the introductory statement from Corbyn and Sultana gave “only a passing glance to the climate crisis”, adding: “Any party that does not have climate and environment front and centre is part of the old politics, not the new.” |
| Ramsay said it was crucial for the Greens to keep their distinctive identity, adding: “Turning the party into a Jeremy Corbyn support act would be a huge mistake.” | Ramsay said it was crucial for the Greens to keep their distinctive identity, adding: “Turning the party into a Jeremy Corbyn support act would be a huge mistake.” |
| Voting for the Greens’ leadership takes place throughout August, with the result announced on 2 September. | Voting for the Greens’ leadership takes place throughout August, with the result announced on 2 September. |