The Green Party’s new leader has said he is willing to work with Jeremy Corbyn’s planned breakaway party in future but stopped short of committing to any formal pact.
“Eco populist” Zack Polanski was announced as the Green’s leader on Tuesday, winning a landslide victory.
The London Assembly member beat former party co-leader Adrian Ramsay and co-runner Ellie Chowns with a massive 20,411 votes from members to his rivals’ 3,705.
During his campaign, he expressed plans to work collaboratively with Mr Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s new party, set to launch later this month, in a bid to suppress the Reform vote.
Speaking to the Standard about potential electoral pacts, Mr Polanski said: “I’ll work with anyone who has the same values and policies as the Green Party,” while stressing that the initiative from the former Labour leader and Coventry MP “doesn’t even exist yet.”
He also made clear there are “red lines” on collaboration, ruling out any prospect of working with Workers Party of Britain leader George Galloway.
“That’s not something I’d want to be involved with,” Mr Polanski added.
In a victory speech at Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in Waterloo, he had strong words for the Labour Party warning: “We are not here to be disappointed by you, we are here to replace you.”
Mr Polanski has pressed for “eco-populism” politics, arguing that the average person cannot afford to think about climate change in the face of financial difficulties.
His leadership manifesto has been themed around growing Green Party presence, particularly in the North of the country, and highlighted intentions to nationalise water companies and introduce higher wealth taxes.
Throughout a sometimes fractious leadership campaign, Mr Polanski urged the Greens to be "bold" and pushed what he brands an "eco-populist" agenda, while his rivals emphasised a need to appeal to a wide range of voters.
Mr Ramsay, the MP for Waveney Valley, and North Herefordshire MP Ms Chowns have accused him of using "polarising" language that only appeals to a "narrow segment" of the electorate.
The Green Party has its highest ever membership of 65,500 and boasts 863 councillors across the country after recent local by-election wins.
However, it has been surpassed in momentum by the right wing Reform UK.
On the recent surge in sign ups for the Green Party and Reform, Polanski added: “I think it speaks to how badly Keir Starmer is doing”.
Rachel Millward and Mothin Ali were appointed as co-deputy leaders of the party on Tuesday.
