Zack Polanski visits Bristol on his mission to ‘make hope normal again’

‘Let’s make Bristol full of green MPs’

2 days ago

Thea Pilch | News

Zack Polanski addressed potential supporters at St George’s, Bristol, last night in the midst of his political heyday.

Harriet Harman recently referred to Polanski as a “combination” of Nigel Farage and Jeremy Corbyn. Judging by their applause and rapt listening over the two hours, the 600 in attendance last night did not share that opinion, or if they did, they welcomed the political starlet regardless.

Polanski’s visit to Bristol, home to one of four Green constituencies in the UK, comes after the party hit 150,000 members last week, a near 80 per cent increase since Polanski was elected leader in September. In reference to a recent poll that indicates an 18-point lead for the Greens amongst 18 to 24-year-old voters, Polanski said the Greens were “rocketing through the polls with hope.”

Speaking alongside climate activist Dominique Palmer and Bristol Central’s MP and ex-leader of the Greens, Carla Denyer, Polanski took the stage to hammer home the mission of his invigorated Green Party: taking the country from one of “despair” to one of “hope.”

It is quite hard to doubt his commitment to instilling hope in the British electorate when he quite literally came onto the stage jumping and dancing, embracing Denyer in a display of, what appeared to be, genuine friendship.

The evening began with Denyer handing Polanski a green baton to represent the changing hands of the party, a party whose success is owed enormously to Bristol. Polanski mockingly remarked, “The Daily Mail will love this”; those in the audience certainly did.

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Zack was in for an easy ride, speaking to a hall packed with paying left-wing voters, over half of whom raised their hands when asked if they were a members of the Green Party, but this doesn’t detract from his ability to do something many in politics struggle to do: get people talking.

The recent Green Party political broadcast, titled “Let’s Make Hope Normal Again,” that on October 6th, has garnered 14 million views. The film features Polanski walking through the streets of Salford, his home town, reflecting on the current political state of the country, which he describes as “obscene”.

There is not a news outlet (reputable or not) in the country that doesn’t have Polanski’s name on it’s lips. He insisted last night that the only way to translate this excitement into votes was “those on the ground” and appealed to the audience for both donations and their time to campaign in and around Bristol.

He argued that door-knocking and grass-roots campaigning were “one of the most patriotic things you can do” and believes it could “combat fascism.”

The visit follows the defection of a previously Labour councillor, Alsayed Al-Maghrabi, to the Green Party on Thursday. The Greens now hold half of the seats at City Hall.

Polanski pleaded that the Green Party, unlike the government, has “two vested interests: people and planet.” This received considerable applause.

He acknowledged the threat of the Reform Party and particularly their mobilisation of young men. When questioned by an audience member on this, Polanski insisted that the Green Party had to “connect with that anger” and ensure young men had a political environment that allowed them to “see themselves as protagonists.”

If elected at the next general election, Polanski and Denyer affirmed their commitment to a universal basic income, pledged to stop all trade and business with Israel and promised a progressive wealth tax.

Polanski stated the key to any political success, in which he referenced Trump’s rise, was “authenticity of message” and Denyer assured an audience member that the Greens would not “get too big for their boots”, adding “parliament feels alien and I hope it always does; I’m not in this for fun, I’m in it for change.”

Only time will tell whether the Greens will manage to keep alight their momentous blaze and “normalise hope”, and only history can judge whether Polanski is a political starlet or just a guy that knows how to speak to a camera. However, one thing remains clear: Even at a time of excited media buzz, the political success of the Greens at the next election is reliant on the grassroots campaigning of politically conscious Bristolians and their compatriots.

Thea Pilch | News

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Zack Polanski visits Bristol on his mission to ‘make hope normal again’

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