Zack Polanski has vowed to defend Britain from a descent into authoritarianism under Sir Keir Starmer, warning the prime minister that “our rights and our liberties are not negotiable”.
In his first conference speech as Green Party leader, the left-wing firebrand attacked Sir Keir over digital IDs, the proscription of the Palestine Action protest group and Labour’s decision to ban a handful of journalists from its own conference in Liverpool.
“This country has a proud tradition of protecting civil liberties – but once again a Labour Government is cracking down on our rights.” he warned.
Mr Polanski said: “From terrorist proscription against protesters, to banning journalists from their conference, to diving into a rushed evidence-free plan for Digital IDs that are likely to discriminate against minorities.
“The alarm bells of authoritarianism are now ringing.”
And he said: “It’s down to us, the Green Party, to take a stand and say that our rights and our liberties are not negotiable, and we will do everything in our power to protect both our privacy and defend our juries.”
Mr Polanski said the proscription of Palestine Action, which is planning another protest in London on Saturday despite the threat of arrest against those who support it, “must be withdrawn”.
It comes after the home secretary called for pro-Gaza demonstrations to be cancelled in the wake of Thursday’s terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester.
Shabana Mahmood urged those considering attending protests in the wake of the tragedy to “show some humanity”.
Elsewhere in his speech, Mr Polanski warned Sir Keir is the “handmaiden” for Reform UK’s “dangerous and deceitful politics”, Zack Polanski has warned in his first address to the Green Party conference as leader.
Mr Polanski has used his address in Bournemouth to accuse Labour of enabling Reform UK’s rise in the polls, painting the Green Party as the left-wing alternative to Mr Farage’s.
Offering a populist alternative, the Green Party leader vowed a wealth tax on the richest 1 per cent, an end to arms sales and intelligence sharing with Israel and public ownership of Britain’s utilities and public services.
And, accusing Sir Keir of aiding the rise of the far right, he said: “I am under no illusion as to the threat we face in this county. A march in London addressed by a who’s who of the far right.
“A party leading in the polls with plans to deport our friends, our neighbours, our family members.
“And a government, a Labour government who are the handmaidens of this dangerous, deceitful politics.”
He described Mr Farage as a “Trump-loving, tax-avoiding, science-denying, NHS-dismantling corporate stooge” and said Sir Keir’s Labour Party is “dancing to his tune”.
Mr Polanski was elected leader of the Greens last month with 85 per cent of member votes. Since he announced his leadership bid, the Green Party’s membership has grown by a third to pass 80,000.
The current London Assembly member, who will stand as an MP at the next general election, is hoping to cement the Greens as a left-wing alternative for disgruntled Labour voters. He has kept the door open to cooperation with Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s Your Party, but believes it is an unnecessary force and has called for its supporters to join the Greens instead.
Mr Polanski is hoping that the Green Party’s surging membership will be reflected in a growing poll rating, forcing Sir Keir’s government to lurch to the left.
“If Reform can rocket through the polls with a politics of despair, then it’s time for the Green Party to do the same thing with a politics of hope,” he said.
He added that the party’s primary focus will be on the cost of living crisis in the UK, but said it would not turn a blind eye to Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza.
Mr Polanski said: “When Keir Starmer – in one of the most deeply cynical and morbid acts I’ve seen in my lifetime – decides to recognise a Palestinian state at the same moment that his government is an active participant in the murdering of the Palestinians then we must never be silent.”
