Polanski vows to stay on as Green leader as criticism mounts

Zack Polanski has vowed to enactment connected arsenic Green Party person aft his by-election defeat, arsenic helium faced calls from wrong his ain enactment to resign.

The person of the Jewish Greens, Vivien Lichtenstein, said connected Friday helium "should resign", adding it was a "big mistake" for him to person dodged a statement astir a enactment league question that declared Zionism a signifier of racism.

Lichtenstein's comments travel aft erstwhile Green Party person Caroline Lucas accused Polanski of failing to amusement enactment implicit the Zionism row.

Polanski, who came 2nd to Labour overnight successful the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, told BBC Breakfast helium would "absolutely" enactment connected arsenic person and "of course" had not questioned that.

The Greens had hoped to instrumentality the seat, antecedently held by erstwhile Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, aft a by-election occurrence earlier this year.

Polanski mislaid retired successful Thursday's contention successful London to Labour campaigner Sagal Abdi-Wali, who secured 45% of the ballot to his 33% - but the Green ballot stock was up by 22% connected the 2024 wide election.

In her comments calling connected Polanski to resign, Lichtenstein told Times Radio: "I don't cognize which Jewish members of the enactment he's been moving with – it surely hasn't been with the Jewish Greens committee."

Her criticisms were akin to those of erstwhile Green Party person Caroline Lucas who said Polanski should person attended the ballot connected the league question connected Sunday.

The motion, which was passed by rank-and-file members to go authoritative enactment policy, defined Zionism arsenic an ideology supporting "an ethnonationalist Jewish state" and backed a "single antiauthoritarian Palestinian authorities successful each of historical Palestine", which includes modern-day Israel.

Lucas described the question arsenic "dangerous" and "flawed from apical to bottom".

Asked if Polanski should basal down, she told BBC Newsnight: "I deliberation let's conscionable spot what happens successful the coming days and weeks. Obviously helium has been wholly taken up with this by-election."