Green Party Leader Polanski Seeks Help Amid By-Election Defeat Fears and Party Controversy
Zack Polanski made a late appeal to activists as polls suggest a loss in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, with the party facing backlash over an 'anti-Semitism' motion.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has issued a late-night call for assistance from activists as he faces potential defeat in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, scheduled for Thursday. Polanski, who is attempting to replace Keir Starmer in the constituency, posted an image from a housing estate asking for campaign support.
Polls indicate that Polanski is likely to lose to Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali. His campaign efforts in London appear to have surpassed his engagement at the Green Party's annual conference in Brighton last weekend. Polanski departed the conference on Friday, reportedly after attempting, unsuccessfully, to have his entire conference participation canceled to free up activists for his by-election campaign.
His early departure also meant he was absent for a contentious vote on a motion described by critics as "Zionism is Racism." The motion has led to the Green Party being reported to the police. It has since emerged that a party member involved with the motion has connections to an individual serving a jail sentence in the U.S. for terrorism offenses.
Lubna Speitan was identified in U.S. court documents as a "close friend" of an al-Qaida terrorist who had plotted a suicide bomb attack at Heathrow Airport. Speitan had offered to testify in defense of Minh Quang Pham, a British citizen sentenced to 40 years in the U.S. for supporting al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. Pham pleaded guilty to three counts of terrorist-related activity, though he denied intending to carry out his plot or harm anyone, and no attack occurred.
Polanski abstained from the vote on the motion, having already left the conference to focus on campaigning in the London constituency. The controversy has led to resignations within the party. Phil Davies, deputy leader of the Wales Green Party, announced his resignation on Tuesday, citing the "Zionism is racism" motion as an acceleration of his decision to leave after seven years. Davies described the motion as "imperialistic" and "idiotic."