Zack Polanski has been elected as the new leader of the Green Party, after winning a landslide victory in the contest.
The former actor and hypnotherapist received 20,411 votes from the party membership, while Ellie Chowns and Adrian Ramsay’s joint campaign received just 3,705 votes.
Elected with the largest ever number of votes in a Green Party leadership election, becoming the first ever sole leader of the party, Mr Polanski promised “bold action and bold leadership”.
In his victory speech, Mr Polanski sent a message to Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, saying the Greens were going to “replace you”.
“We will nationalise the water companies. We will hold this Labour government to account. Because when we look at Keir Starmer and what this government have been doing, whether it’s the two-child benefit cap, the disability cuts, the genocide in Gaza, my message to Labour is very clear: we are not here to be disappointed by you, we are not here to be concerned by you, we’re here to replace you.”
Mr Polanski used his victory speech to promise his followers and those who did not vote for him to work to expand the party, welcoming "thousands of new members" to the Green Party.
"Thank you to every single person who voted for me. I promise to work every single day to deliver environmental, social, racial and economic justice”, he said.
It comes as the Green Party seeks to pitch itself as a serious progressive alternative to Labour, having increased its Commons representation to four MPs last year.
Throughout a sometimes fractious campaign, Mr Polanski has 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 incumbent co-leader and 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.
Mr Polanski has previously said he would work with Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s new left-wing political party, saying he is “open to working with anyone who’s up for challenging the far-right threat of Reform and this unpopular Labour government”.
Congratulating him on to his victory, Mr Corbyn said: “I look forward to working with you to create a fairer, kinder world.”
“Your campaign took on the rich and powerful, stood up for the dignity of all marginalised communities, and gave people hope! Real change is coming”, he added.
Voting ran until August 30, with anyone who had joined the party by the end of July eligible to cast a ballot.
Mr Polanski’s insurgent campaign had encouraged people to sign up to the Greens ahead of the vote, leading to accusations of “entryism” from some of his opponents – accusations he has denied.
Unlike other parties, the Greens hold leadership elections every two years.
This year’s contest was to have been held in 2024, after Mr Ramsay and his co-leader Carla Denyer were elected for an extraordinary three-year term in 2021, but the poll was delayed in order to avoid a clash with the general election.
Ms Denyer decided not to stand for re-election in May this year.
Mr Polanski previously worked as a hypnotherapist - a role that sparked controversy when, in 2013, a newspaper reporter requested a hypnotherapy session to increase her breast size and body image self-confidence for an article in the paper.
He did the session without charge and featured in the published article - but said the story did not accurately reflect the situation. Years later, he apologised for his involvement.
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