British eco-populist leader pushes wealth tax, warns of far-right rise

MANCHESTER, England (CN) — Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for Britain’s wealthiest to pay more in taxes while accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government of leaving the country vulnerable to the far right.

Polanski, who describes himself as an eco-populist, has pledged for a tax on the wealthiest 1% to reduce growing inequality and promised to renationalize some industries to end the “failed privatization experiment.”

In his first speech since being elected leader in September, he said the government’s policies of “managed decline” risk handing power to Reform UK, the nationalist party that is surging in the polls and led by former Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage.

Polanski used much of his speech to attack Farage, calling him a “Trump-loving, science-denying corporate stooge” and injecting stronger language into British politics directed toward Farage and those on the right.

“The alarm bells of authoritarianism are ringing loud and clear”, he said in the Oct. 3 speech. “We are under no illusion as to the threat we face in this country.”

On Sept. 13, more than 100,000 took part in a far-right, anti-immigrant rally in central London. Organized by Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the crowd heard from Steve Bannon and Elon Musk, who warned that “violence is coming to you. You either fight back or die.”

It was one of the largest far-right demonstrations in recent history.

“We are under no illusion as to the threat we face in this county,” said Polanski. “A march in London addressed by a who’s who of the far right. A party leading in the polls with plans to deport our friends, our neighbours, our family members.”

Reform UK has promised to abolish the right for migrants to qualify for permanent settlement and to bar all migrants from accessing state welfare.

Under the plan, millions of non-British people would risk being deported by failing to qualify under the new visa system.

The Green leader also addressed the Oct. 2 terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester, which left two people dead and four others seriously injured.

“This horrific attack feels deeply personal for me as I grew up in the Jewish community in Manchester,” he said. “It is a sad reflection of the growing antisemitism we’ve witnessed for several years.”

In response to the attack, Starmer and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood urged people not to attend pro-Palestine protests organized at the weekend as a sign of respect.

The home secretary later granted broader powers to the police to restrict future protests, which may force organizers to move their protests if a site has been used for repeated demonstrations.

Polanski criticized the government, saying that conflating Jewish identity with Israel’s military actions was “deeply irresponsible” and made Jewish people feel unsafe.

“Conflating protests against a genocide in Gaza and ultimately weaponizing that against an antisemitic attack on our streets, a terrorist attack, is deeply irresponsible,” he said.

Polanski’s populist pivot has paid off for the Green Party.

The conference drew record attendance for the Greens, including an increase in media accreditation, signaling growing public and press interest in the party.

The party said it now has 83,500 members, with a surge in membership since Polanski’s victory now surpassing the Liberal Democrats, the third largest party in parliament — although far off the Labour Party’s 333,000 members.

It’s a clear change of direction for the party, which has traditionally kept to an environmental platform with a policy-focussed politics.

The pivot to populism has expanded into class-based politics as it looks to fill the vacuum left by the Labour Party as it shifts to the right.

The Greens see next May’s local elections as a key test of whether their populist message gets across to voters.

The local elections will also be a confidence test for the governing Labour government as well as how much more ground Reform UK can swallow up.

Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.

Follow @jayfranklinlive