The Labour assembly member, a former actor, hypnotherapist, and former deputy leader of the Greens, told Big Issue in June that he wanted to make Starmer more scared of him than of Nigel Farage’s Reform.
As leader, however, Polanski cannot set party policy or tell the Greens’ four MPs how to vote in Westminster. Instead, his election gives him a wider platform and media visibility.
He hopes his populist platform can peel off voters who may be tempted to go to Reform. In the wake of protests outside asylum hotels, Labour has taken a harder line on immigration, announcing a wave of crackdowns, including a warning for international students not to overstay their visas.
Will Jennings, professor of political science and public policy at the University of Southampton, said Polanski’s victory showed Labour faces a “significant challenge” on its left flank. “The next election is likely to be characterised by fragmentation of electoral support, and the Greens will pose a challenge to the government on the left just as Reform will pose a challenge on the right,” Jennings told Big Issue.
“These will be in different sorts of constituencies, of course, with the Greens more likely to pick up support in areas that are more ethnically diverse and have more university graduates.”
But the way this looks on an electoral map of the UK is hard to predict, said Paul Webb, professor of politics at the University of Sussex.
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
For instance, on the face of it, Reform’s progress at the expense of the Tories should be good news for it – but by further weakening the Conservatives, it might actually serve to help the Lib Dems somewhat, since the Lib Dems’ nearest constituency competitors are often the Tories. So Reform could gain votes without adding many more seats,” he said.
“On the left, we can expect some disgruntled Labour voters to shift to Greens or the new Corbynista party – but a few will also flow to Lib Dems or Reform. To date, analysis suggests Labour is losing more support to Lib Dems and Greens than to Reform, but it’s complicated,” he added.
The effect of which, said Webb, is that a hung parliament is not out of the question.
And a hung parliament brings the possibility of coalitions, deal-making, and alliances. Yet soon after winning the leadership contest, Polanski called Keir Starmer “despicable in terms of the politics” and ruled out a potential coalition with Labour at the next election.
Nor is the left of British politics as simple as it was when Polanski launched his leadership bid. In his interview with Big Issue, the then-candidate hinted he would like suspended Labour MPs such as Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana to join the Greens. Since then, however, the pair have launched a party – provisionally called Your Party.
Politics is getting more fragmented, but not in the way many think, added Webb, but the end result is less dominance for the Tories and Labour. “There is growing evidence that such fragmentation is mainly occurring within the right and left-wing blocks of parties. That is, we still basically have a bipolar pattern of party politics, but Labour and the Tories do not dominate their respective ‘poles’ to the extent that they once did.”
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more.
Reader-funded since 1991 – Big Issue brings you trustworthy journalism that drives real change.
Every day, our journalists dig deeper, speaking up for those society overlooks.
Could you help us keep doing this vital work? Support our journalism from £5 a month.
