Green Party deputy leader Zack Polanski came to Stroud recently to meet councillors and supporters. He talked about – among other things – the national party’s growth, its successes locally, and our prospects in the Gloucestershire County Council elections next May. Interview by Sue Fenton.
Q. Why do you like to visit local parties?
A. It’s one of the most enjoyable parts of my job. I love going to see what local councillors are up to and what’s happening in communities.
It’s not always positive – sometimes things are under threat in certain communities – but there are always good news stories.
Often it helps me spot patterns in what happens in different areas and that can help inform the way the national party thinks. It helps with strategic thinking, away from the siloes that can develop on the ground within local parties as they focus on the local issues.
It’s a privilege to use my platform to amplify local voices of local people at a national level.
Q. The Greens in Stroud now have 22 councillors on SDC and have formed a minority leadership. To what do you attribute the Greens’ strength in the area?
A. Our success here shows the importance of local campaigning. We know what it’s like to have Greens in this area and how effective they can be. There’s arguably nothing more important than local representation.
Stroud Greens aren’t people seeking power for its own sake, people who want a ‘career’ in politics; they are people who like to really get their hands in the soil and represent the community. They come into politics to make a difference. Some people in other parties are like that but what’s unique to the Greens that they’re all like that. There’s a philosophy of people getting involved because they want to see positive change in the community.
We don’t have big corporate backers; funding is from members and individual donations. Greens have only two vested interests: the people and the planet. When these are your only principles you make the best decisions.
All the best council groups have had real-world experience and that’s really important too. In Stroud, we have teachers, small business owners, scientists, health care workers, waste and recycling experts, parents.
Q. How has the Green Party changed since you joined in 2017?
A. It’s grown phenomenally. We’re more confident, more professional. Some 1.9m people voted for the GP at the ballot box in the General Election, considerably more than ever before. And a lot more wanted to but thought we couldn’t win. But we showed that we can and do win.
There’s also an increasing sense of the party’s importance; it’s not a nice-to-have, it’s not a luxury. No other party is stepping up to protect the planet, tackle inequality, protect human rights, rejoin the EU, tax the super-rich, ensure people have access to green spaces. To achieve all these things, our society requires a party that has these values at its core.
The Green Party offers that real hope and real change, an alternative to the two-party system.
Q. What’s the biggest challenge for the Party?
A. The most special thing about the Greens is that we’re a grass roots democratic party. We’ll always support the one-member-one-vote principle.
But that can be a challenge too, when fighting elections, as there needs to be a clear message. There’s a creative tension when it comes to balancing local autonomy and clear national guidelines. But that can be resolved through listening, genuine deep listening that takes time. You should always know what you think about something but also be willing to listen to other arguments and be willing to change. And that goes for how councillors interact with other parties and with residents, too.
Q. How can we make it easier to find good council candidates?
A. We need to give those people who might be interested in standing, confidence that they can do it. There’s a really interesting difference between men and women in this respect. If you ask a man to stand they will give it a go. If you ask a woman they need to be asked six or seven times; they tend to give you reasons why they will not be good at it. This is why the #AskHerToStand campaign is so important; it’s about giving women the confidence that they can do the job well.
Whether it’s women or others who might not have been traditionally involved in politics, such as ethnic minorities and disabled people, we all have a responsibility to encourage people to get involved.
Arguably those who have doubts about whether they can do it are the perfect candidates because they’re not arrogant.
My message to potential candidates would be: yes, it’s a lot of work however you won’t be alone; there will be a team to support you. And you will get training in things like public speaking.
If you have doubts, think about the unique contribution you can make and how much we need the particular skills you do have, which could be writing speeches, being able to talk to people, understanding policy and data. The skills you see on TV that people think of as ‘politics’ are not the only skills the party needs.
If you don’t get involved because you’re not ready, you’re denying your community your unique contribution. Recognise the urgency of this moment; we have a climate crisis, a poverty crisis; we don’t have time to mess about. Just do it.
Finding people willing to support and organise is really important too. You don’t necessarily need to get elected. We need to explain to people what they will get out of being involved with the party. When people realise that leafletting can get councillors or MPs elected, for example, they realise their part in the bigger picture.
Q. Politicians have to speak in public; is this a challenge to potential councillors?
A. I came to politics from a background in theatre acting so I was used to public speaking; what was more of an issue for me was the policy and data aspect of politics, and I had a rapid learning curve in that respect.
For most people it’s the other way around: councillors typically understand the policy side but struggle with the public speaking. But it’s a skill that can be learned and I’ve seen some quite shy people blossom into confident speakers. So I’d say don’t let lack of experience in speaking put you off; there will be lots of support and training in that side of things.
Q. Some people say that the Greens are now the only socialist party; would you agree? And is this a facet we should be promoting more widely?
A. We don’t need labels as the word ‘Green’ demonstrates our values. And I know that ex-Tories will vote for ‘Green’ values but not ‘socialist’ values.
But we are very clear about our left-wing progressive values. We think the rich should pay their fair share and we stand for social justice, climate justice, racial justice, because there’s no environmental justice without them.
And the word ‘socialism’ doesn’t scare people like it used to. There’s a lot of merit in owning our values and I’m very interested in having conversations around this question.
Q. We have a lot of local campaigns around community access and ownership in Stroud District. What are your thoughts on this?
A. The pandemic really highlighted the importance of access to the outdoors. People appreciated green spaces more and those who don’t have gardens had a much harder time.
Biodiversity and green spaces are the most important thing we have. We’re in a biodiversity crisis, and having public space where the priority is people and wildlife is really important.
The challenge is providing community ownership – of land and buildings – in a world run by corporations. We should have emerged from a feudal system a long time ago, we need a more equal society that has property owned in common. That goes for public utilities and other shared assets. Everyone has a right to breathe clean air and drink clean water and have access to green space without feeling like they owe anything to anyone.
Something that really concerns me is the term ‘public/private space’: places where there are lots of rules like no photography, no ball games, no eating. It’s corporatisation of space and it sets a precedent for parks to go into private ownership. That’s the opposite of where we should be going, which is making land ownership more egalitarian, introducing common ownership of the land we walk in.
When I visited Stroud I had the chance to visit the Heavens Valley, which is a perfect example of a successful community campaign that aims to create public space where the priority is people and wildlife.
Q. How can Greens best fight the far right with its racist rhetoric?
A. We’re in a dangerous place where politics has never been more polarised. After 14 years of Conservative government it feels like we’re a broken country where nothing works. We talk about a cost of living crisis but actually it’s an equality crisis.
We have a Labour government that promises change but that has continued austerity, appeasing racist rhetoric and fanning the flames by scapegoating the vulnerable when people’s worst instincts are appealed to.
We need to show that the threat often arrives by private jet, not dinghy. We need to offer the vision of a world where everyone is included and everyone has a stake.
We need to occupy the vacuum that Labour has left by not showing leadership, or we will see Reform get more successful. And you can’t challenge the right wing by calling them stupid; we have seen in the US what happens when we laugh at megalomaniacs.
There are tensions and legitimate concerns around things like housing shortages and the NHS and we need to have honest discussions around that. But these are from 14 years of under investment.
Q. What’s next for Stroud District Greens?
A. The party needs to grow quickly and the way to do that is at local level, where we represent local communities. We can be too humble; we need to know our strengths. We need to grow our belief that we can do it. We can and must be a huge force in British politics. We already know how unpopular the Tories are; and there is dissatisfaction with Labour, not least the belief that their MPs can become lobby fodder, told what to do and vote by party whips. That’s part of the reason we won in Bristol against a popular Labour MP.
This is the moment for Stroud. We have demonstrated that we can do it at a district level so the next stage starts with the GCC elections.
We have a slate of great candidates and every chance of growing the Green group of councillors significantly.
Zack is pictured with local councillors and supporters during his visit to Stroud.