Zack Polanski is a politician in the United Kingdom who became leader of the Green Party of England and Wales on 2 September 2025. Previously the party’s deputy leader, he was first elected to the London Assembly in May 2021 and re-elected in 2024. His political platform combines environmental policy with proposals addressing housing costs, economic inequality and public services. (news.sky.com)
Background and early career
Polanski grew up in Salford under the name David Paulden. At the age of 18, he adopted the surname Polanski, restoring his Jewish grandfather’s original family name. He attended a grammar school on a scholarship before transferring to a comprehensive college, and subsequently studied in Wales and the United States. Before entering elected politics, he worked as an actor and hypnotherapist. (news.sky.com)
His employment also included youth work and hospitality. His work in community theatre involved helping marginalised communities tell their own stories. London City Hall’s biography records that he previously lived as a property guardian and identifies housing insecurity as part of his personal experience before taking office. (greenparty.org.uk)
Political career
Polanski initially belonged to the Liberal Democrats, standing unsuccessfully in a north London council election in 2015 and as a London Assembly candidate in 2016. He joined the Green Party in 2017 and unsuccessfully contested a parliamentary seat in 2019. Elected to the London Assembly in 2021, he became the Green Party’s deputy leader in 2022. (news.sky.com)
On the Assembly, he represents London through a Londonwide seat rather than an individual constituency. His work has included environmental scrutiny, housing retrofit and support for the capital’s creative industries. He has chaired the Assembly’s Environment Committee and advocated electoral reform and a basic income. (london.gov.uk)
Party leadership
In the 2025 leadership election, Polanski defeated the joint candidacy of Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns. He received 20,411 votes against their 3,705, approximately 84.6% of votes cast. His campaign advocated a more visible, mass-membership party and described its approach as “eco-populism.” (news.sky.com)
On 8 October 2026, he contested the Holborn and St Pancras parliamentary by-election. Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali won with 12,292 votes; Polanski received 8,928, just under 33% of the total, and did not enter the House of Commons. (apnews.com)
Political positions
Polanski’s stated approach connects action on climate change with household living costs and economic distribution. He has argued for affordable housing, green employment and free childcare, financed in part through greater taxation of wealth. His leadership programme presents social and environmental policy as interconnected rather than separate areas of activity. (greenparty.org.uk)
He has also advocated a basic income and greater support for cultural and creative work. In describing his “eco-populist” strategy, he has sought to attract voters dissatisfied with Labour by placing social and economic questions alongside the Green Party’s established environmental priorities. (itv.com)