Exclusive: Zack Polanski not in ‘any danger’ of having to step down if he loses Holborn and St Pancras by-election, former Green Party leader says
The ex-Green Party leader said Polanski will not have to step down as leader if he doesn’t win
Natalie Bennett, the leader of the Green Party between 2012 and 2016, ruled out Zack Polanski having to step down as leader of the party if he loses the Holborn and St Pancras by-election today.
Speaking to Left Foot Forward at Green Party conference over the weekend, Bennett said there was “no question at all that Zack is in any ‘danger’” of having to stand down as leader if the crunch vote doesn’t go his way.
Asked if Polanski should remain as leader if he loses the by-election, Bennett said in no uncertain terms that he would stay on.
The Green peer said: “This is the kind of debate that just demonstrates how little the mainstream media understands about Green Party politics.”
She added: “We elect our leaders for two years. There is no question at all that Zack is in any danger. That’s not the way Green Party leadership works.”
Green Party members elect their leader and deputy leaders through a one-member-one-vote internal party election once every two years.
Labour looks set to retain the seat, which it has held since 1983. A prediction by Politics UK, published yesterday, estimated that Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali will win the contest with 42% of the seat, while the Greens are predicted to come in second on 32%.
At the 2024 general election, Keir Starmer won 48.9% of the vote, down 17.3% compared to the 2019 election. Andrew Feinstein, who ran as an independent left candidate won 18.9% of the vote, while the Greens’ David Stansell won 10.4% of the vote.
Polling guru John Curtice has said it will be “a substantial challenge” for the Greens to win today’s by-election, as Labour has risen in the polls since Andy Burnham took over as leader and prime minister.
Meanwhile, support for the Greens has dropped slightly.
Asked what a good night would look like for the Greens, he said if they don’t win but “It’s a narrow defeat [for the Greens], Polanski will at least be able to claim to have given Labour a hard fight.”
Regarding what a good result for Labour would look like, the pollster said that if Labour increases its vote share compared to the 2024 election, “that would be a reasonably good result for Labour”.
However, he added: “They could well win the constituency with their share of the vote being even markedly lower than it was in 2024.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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