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Zack Polanski Approval Rating Trend
Recent shift in net approval rating for Zack Polanski.
Primary Sources
The radical transformation of Green Party leader Zack Polanski
One Thursday night in April 2016, a young Lib Dem election candidate slipped on his finest grey suit and travelled to north London to meet voters at a 'hustings' in Barnet. Among the political hot potatoes chucked his way during the ensuing Q&A session was the thorny topic of anti-Semitism. Specifically: some Jewish residents of the borough, which is home to several large synagogues, voiced concern about mood music emanating from the Labour Party, which had recently elected Jeremy Corbyn as leader. They complained of feeling unsafe on the streets and spoke of an uptick in anti-Jewish hate-crimes.The Lib Dem candidate was a charismatic chap and offered a pitch-perfect response. Spreading his arms wide, he declared himself to not only be a proud Jew, but also an enthusiastic Zionist. A vote for his party would, he insisted, represent 'support for liberalism, support for Israel and support for Judaism'. That candidate's name was Zack Polanski.Back then, he was a jobbing 'life-coach, actor, corporate-trainer' and some-time hypnotherapist who had changed his name via deed poll. He was born David Paulden, but wanted to reclaim his family's Jewish surname - and distance himself from his stepfather, who was also named David. After developing a sudden interest in politics a couple of years earlier, he'd decided to join the Lib Dems. He was now seeking a £63,000-a-year seat on the London Assembly. Aged 32, it would have been his first proper, full-time, salaried job. — Polanski was regarded as being on the party's 'soft-Right' wing, according to a colleague from that period. At an autumn party conference, Polanski had given a speech declaring: 'I consider the Liberal Democrats as family.' A few months later, the Lib Dem Voice magazine dubbed him one of its 'stars of 2015'. 'We've had the benefit of him seemingly landing from space in our party with boundless energy AND efficiency, a rare combination in LD circles,' read the citation. 'He appears ambitious, but with a true liberal soul.'That, of course, was then. But families can fall out. After failing to win that London Assembly seat, Polanski applied for a parliamentary one, in Richmond Park. When the local party chose someone else, this 'true liberal' threw a public tantrum, complaining on Facebook that 'there's no feedback given and no appeals process. I'm pretty gutted'. Not long afterwards, he defected to the Greens. The party promptly found him a berth in the Assembly. He became deputy party leader in 2022 an...
Zack Polanski's popularity plummets following row with police chief ...
Zack Polanski’s popularity ratings have taken a major hit days before crucial local elections following a row with the chief of the Metropolitan Police over a post he shared about the Golders Green stabbings.New polling has shown the Green Party leader’s net approval rating has fallen 14 points in the wake of being publicly criticised by Sir Mark Rowley last week.In a rare intervention, Sir Mark rebuked Mr Polanski for sharing an “inaccurate” post on X (formerly Twitter) that accused officers detaining the Golders Green attack suspect of “repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head” when he was already incapacitated after being tasered.Mr Polanski has faced criticism from within his own party, as well as from prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, who branded him “disgraceful” and “not fit to lead any political party”.Mr Polanski apologised for the post on Friday, but days later said the commissioner’s move to publish an open letter was not “an appropriate way to do politics”, and added that the police should not be above scrutiny.Zack Polanski said Met chief Mark Rowley’s open letter was not ‘an appropriate way to do politics’ (Reuters)It appears the ordeal has caused his popularity ratings to plummet, bad news for the party and its leader days before the Greens are expected to make big gains at Thursday’s local elections.Data from More in Common suggested Mr Polanski had dropped 14 points over the last week, to a net approval rating of minus 27, leaving him below Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage and Ed Davey.Luke Tryl, the UK director at More in Common, said that while there was no doubt Mr Polanski was “inspiring” some voters, he had seen a significant drop this week.“He fell 14 points in his net approval rating over the past week,” he said. “And from our focus group conversations, it seems like the Golders Green response, the subsequent retweet, apology, criticism from other political parties has very definitely cut through.”(More in Common/@LukeTryl)He added that the Green Party’s image as a being associated with “politics for the good” may have been damaged by the ordeal.Mr Tryl said: “I think that the association [of] some of the things which Green candidates have said about antisemitism, and perhaps Zack Polanski not being seen as robust enough on Golders Green, or reacting in and the way he did to the police, and the response from Starmer and others is making some people think twice.”However, the Greens are still expected to be one of the...
Green Party Leader Zack Polanski Defends Strategy Amid Media Scrutiny
The Green party's outspoken leader, Zack Polanski. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images Green party leader Zack Polanski is employing a confrontational media strategy as the organization faces a surge of national scrutiny and controversial allegations leading into this week's United Kingdom elections.
The rise of the Greens: is their popularity sustainable?
Until a few months ago, most voters couldn't have picked Zack Polanski out of a line-up. Now, the Green Party leader - who was elected in September - is so mobbed by crowds, he travels with ...
