Green leader warns of authoritarian ‘alarm bells’ in conference speech

The “alarm bells of authoritarianism are ringing loud and clear”, the leader of the Green Party has said, as he hit out at Labour and Reform politics.

The newly elected party leader, Zack Polanski, used his party conference speech in Bournemouth on Friday to criticise the Labour Government and Nigel Farage’s party.

He accused Sir Keir Starmer’s Government of failing to go far enough on issues like the climate crisis, while “cracking down on our rights” and branding Labour the “handmaidens” of Reform’s politics.

Addressing the conference on Friday afternoon, he insisted his party could “rocket through the polls” in the same way Mr Farage’s party has done, but with a “politics of hope” rather than “despair”.

He said: “The Prime Minister might call this an island of strangers. When Farage says jump, Labour might say ‘how high’.

“But the Greens will never dance to the tune of a Trump-loving, tax-avoiding, science-denying, NHS-dismantling corporate stooge.”

As Green Party members gave a standing ovation, Mr Polanski said: “You might as well stay on your feet, because I’m going to say, we’ll say it loud, we’ll say it clear: migrants and refugees are welcome here.”

He added: “We are under no illusion as to the threat we face in this country. 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.

“And a Government, a Labour Government, who are the handmaidens of this dangerous, deceitful politics.”

He accused the Labour Government of “cracking down on our rights” and called for the ban on Palestine Action to be lifted – a move he branded “draconian”.

“The proscription of Palestine Action must be withdrawn, and every parliamentarian, Labour, Tory, Reform, even Lib Dem, who failed to vote against it, needs to hang their heads in shame,” he said.

Mr Polanski added: “From terrorist proscription against protesters, to banning journalists from their conference, to diving into a rushed, evidence-free plan for Digital IDs that are likely to discriminate against minorities.

“The alarm bells of authoritarianism are ringing loud and clear.”

The Green leader also described Sir Keir’s decision to recognise a state of Palestine as “deeply cynical and morbid” and accused the Government of being “an active participant in the murdering of the Palestinians”.

The public can no longer hope Labour will “change course”, he said, branding it a politics of “managed decline”.

“It’s dressed up in this weird national renewal and draped in Reform-baiting policymaking,” Mr Polanski said.

“More of the same from Keir Starmer won’t just fail us now, it will hand this country on a plate to the forces around Nigel Farage.”

Making an appeal to voters ahead of the local elections in May next year, Mr Polanski called for a tax on the assets of the wealthiest 1% of people, with the aim of reducing inequality.

He said he aims for the Greens to create “a country we can all afford to live in”.

His party has gathered for their three-day conference in Bournemouth, telling voters that “hateful, divisive politics is on the ballot paper this May” and only the Greens can offer hope.

Mr Polanski said it is time to take back power and wealth from the “tiny few”.

“This is a country that has so much going for it but we have been time and time again failed by a political class poisoned by extreme wealth,” he said.

The party’s membership numbers have increased by nearly a fifth since he beat a joint ticket from MPs Adrian Ramsey (Waveney Valley) and Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire), officials have said.

Responding to Mr Polanski’s speech a Labour spokesperson said: “It is no surprise that Zack Polanski, a man who said he wanted to learn from Nigel Farage, has done so in his speech today – using his platform to sow division and grievance.

“Labour firmly chooses the path of national renewal. Only our Labour Government is driving forward the change working people voted for, to renew our country, keep Britain safe, and make sure people across all corners of the UK feel better off.”

Reform has been contacted for comment.