Green Party activist Ashok Kumar has said that Zack Polanski may run in Holborn and St Pancras, saying the party’s popularity with Muslims could prove a vote-winner.
Speaking on GB News he said: “For the question, can he stand? Yes, of course. He lives in London. He’s a citizen. He’s a member of the Green Party. Of course, he can stand.
“Will he stand? I think that’s still up in the air. It would be a very nice story to have, you know, Starmer steps down, the leader of our party runs, wins, of course. But we’re a democratic party.
“You know, Andrew Feinstein, who is the independent left candidate who ran 2024, got 20%. The Greens got another 10%. So we’re talking 1/3 of all voters in a by-election of a leader of a party voting for the left candidate.
“And certainly, we would try to work something out with an independent left candidate like Andrew Feinstein, so we wouldn’t be competing against each other.
“So there’s a very good chance.
“It’s just been announced today. We’re a democratic party. We decide locally. It’s not like someone just parachuted in or decided by the comms team; the members decide who.
“And that might be kind of within the Westminster bubble, kind of unprecedented. People don’t realise that that’s how candidates are chosen, but that’s how we choose it. So it’s not anointment. There’s no anointments. There’s elections.
“Perhaps [he’d lose], perhaps he’d win. If you look at the constituency, you know, one in three voters there are renters. We’re the only party that supports rent controls. It’s incredibly popular with the party
“You know, if you look at them, the district or the constituency, one in four voters are Muslim. We’re the only party that opposed the war in Iran. We called it a genocide in Palestine. We wanted to do full arms embargo and sanction against Israel.
“We also oppose you know opening up oil and gas and like Burnham does. He’s supporting it when Starmer didn’t support it. We’re also the only party that supports renationalising water and energy, which polls at 80, 90% “So we’re a very popular party, especially in London, and especially in that constituency.
“[He’s] been exposed for a year now. You know, he was elected a year ago. We got the second largest vote in the local elections. We got 18% after Reform. He’s been taken to the cleaners, especially by GB News.
“The good people of GB News relentlessly talk about this. So it’s nothing new to people. We’re still doing well, well enough, especially in places like London..
“So I think you know if he goes for it, if Mothin Ali, our deputy leader, goes for it, or if even if Andrew Feinstein joins the Green Party and goes for it, we have a strong chance.”
