Does anybody here take the Greens seriously?

[farfromtheland]

I think his bigger problem might be the proposals that could be put forward by members at the GP conference. If these are a bit let's say unusual he might find they undermine his efforts to be taken seriously.

In what way unusual? Too conventional perhaps?

 

[farfromtheland]

It's how the Green Party structure works but it's unfortunate timing that the by election and conference are close together.

Only if back-biting replaces debate?
If the Green party don't propose genuine alternatives to mindless growth then the structure is questionable.

 

[Psamathe]

I think his bigger problem might be the proposals that could be put forward by members at the GP conference. If these are a bit let's say unusual he might find they undermine his efforts to be taken seriously. It's how the Green Party structure works but it's unfortunate timing that the by election and conference are close together.

I strongly suspect that's why Polanski tried to slip the Green Party Conference. But "the Party" refused to move it to after voting.
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...postpone-greens-conference-byelection-refused

 

[monkers]

He's trying to deflect criticism of being a parachuted in candidate.

Clearly you don't know what you are talking about. It's more a case of you parachuting in allegations without facts. It is always the case with the Green Party that all parliamentary candidates are selected by the local party, not by GPEW, and so it was with Polanski.

 

[briantrumpet]

Why does he provide such easy ammunition to his opponents?

 

[monkers]

Why does he provide such easy ammunition to his opponents?

View attachment 17402

Polanski lying v people lying about Polanski?

In his own words:

"20 years ago when I first moved to London, Camden Town became my home."

"I know the community well and love it. The constituency represents many things that make London special... [It] has potential and everything that's the best of the country."

Polanksi, speaking at a candidate launch event, said: “I am proud and honoured to have been selected for a byelection in the constituency where I have lived and worked for much of the past 20 years.

These quotes do not say ''I currently live in Camden or the constituency''.

It's much like the fib told earlier on NCAP that he has to defend against being parachuted in. He wasn't and has no need to defend something that didn't happen. He put his name forward to the local party group in the usual way, there was a Hustings, there were other candidates. He won the selection under Green Party rules.

 

[PurplePenguin]

Why does he provide such easy ammunition to his opponents?

View attachment 17402

No such thing as bad publicity etc.

 

[briantrumpet]

It's quite hard to take some Greens seriously when an ex-Green councillor a former Deputy Lord Mayor doesn't know the difference between the river Exe and the flood relief channel in their own city. She might have realised that when it doesn't rain, the flood relief channel doesn't, er, flood.

 

[briantrumpet]

What could possibly go wrong?

(Politico)

 

[First Aspect]

This is why they are unelectable.

 

[Psamathe]

Polanski says he does not need to win ‘50/50’ byelection to stay Green leader
I can see it won't affect his current position as Party leader but Green's hold elections for such posts every two years so it becomes easier/quicker for them to change leader and I see a vulnerability should he lose the by-election.

If he loses now, come next General Election should he "cherry pick" another easy constituency I see that constituency seeing his interest in them as being no more than a secure path to Parliament rather than any desire to represent constituents. And where other Green candidates elsewhere are getting elected as MPs and he isn't I wonder if those others eg Adrian Ramsay might be seen as more appropriate Party leaders.

Polanski can't keep bouncing around different constituencies, treating them as his personal vehicle to Parliament rather than his being interested in representing the constituency.

 

[Ian H]

Polanski says he does not need to win ‘50/50’ byelection to stay Green leader
I can see it won't affect his current position as Party leader but Green's hold elections for such posts every two years so it becomes easier/quicker for them to change leader and I see a vulnerability should he lose the by-election.

If he loses now, come next General Election should he "cherry pick" another easy constituency I see that constituency seeing his interest in them as being no more than a secure path to Parliament rather than any desire to represent constituents. And where other Green candidates elsewhere are getting elected as MPs and he isn't I wonder if those others eg Adrian Ramsay might be seen as more appropriate Party leaders.

Polanski can't keep bouncing around different constituencies, treating them as his personal vehicle to Parliament rather than his being interested in representing the constituency.

The problem for the Greens, should they decide to defenestrate him, is finding a similarly charismatic replacement.

 

[Psamathe]

The problem for the Greens, should they decide to defenestrate him, is finding a similarly charismatic replacement.

I agree but I suspect Polanski is a "Marmite" leader whose peak poll ratings were to a large part a "Not Starmer" rather than those people seeking Green Party policies. Certainly the Green Party has some very capable potential leaders but they don't grab the headlines as much as Polanski but then they also don't make fools of themselves to the same extent.

 

[briantrumpet]

It is genuinely sad to see the Greens tear themselves apart over a subject which is not central to the green agenda. Reading through the comments, it appears that several people who had been on Team Corbyn, and then in Your Party, and know how to take over a party, now have discovered they are Greens after all. It's almost like they are obsessed by this one (albeit important) issue.

 

[briantrumpet]

This, from someone some way to the left of my views (I think he wasn't hostile to Corbyn's general flavour of left-wingism), but whose views I respect (he's a professor of politics, so has a professional interest in being engaged in thoughtful argument) and to challenge my own:

Paul Bernal
October 4, 2026 at 11:34 AM GMT+1

I lost friends over antisemitism in Labour. I tried to argue that the fact that people on the right were trying to use antisemitism as a weapon against Labour (and they were, in bad faith) did not mean that antisemitism did not exist in Labour (it did). This argument still echoes.

I know people still think the whole weaponisation of antisemitism against Corbyn was a fraud. There were certainly some very bad people who used it, *but* it was there to be used. It existed. It still does. I still get a lot of replies that use antisemitic tropes to attack Israel. It never helps. I expect to get a few even to this.