British Green Party leader Zack Polanski suffered a crushing defeat overnight Thursday in an election for the parliamentary seat vacated by former Labour leader Keir Starmer. He lost to Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali, who received 12,929 votes to Polanski's 8,928.
The election, held in the Holborn and St. Pancras constituency in central London, followed a highly controversial resolution adopted by the Green Party under Polanski's leadership. The party effectively voted in favor of Israel's destruction by passing a resolution declaring Zionism to be racism and calling for the establishment of "a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital."
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'And what we're seeing is an ongoing genocide and the displacement of the Palestinian people. I believe that's clearly racist.' Polanski
(Photo: Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images)
Sagal Abdi-Wali
(Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images)
While Polanski, who is Jewish, abstained from voting on the resolution and had remained silent since its passage, Abdi-Wali sharply criticized it. "It has been brought up to me by people literally at the school gates this morning, of how like divisive they found that motion and how worried they are by it," she said. "I think it's worrying for anyone who believes in a two-state solution."
The resolution also drew criticism from lawmakers within the Green Party, numerous Jewish organizations in Britain and other political parties.
Following the election results overnight Thursday, Polanski addressed the resolution for the first time but again stopped short of taking a clear position on it.
"I grew up in a Zionist household and I grew up with the idea that that region was a land without a people and a people without a land and as I've educated myself, learned, discovered, I don't believe that's true. And what we're seeing is an ongoing genocide and the displacement of the Palestinian people. I believe that's clearly racist."
Nevertheless, Polanski did not say whether he supported the resolution adopted by his party. He also said he had no intention of stepping down as Green Party leader.
The election was seen as a major test for Labour, which faces growing competition from the Green Party for left-wing voters. The result is considered a setback for Polanski, 43, who had pledged to transform his party into an "eco-populist" movement and draw support away from Labour — a strategy that had worked until Andy Burnham came to power.
Starmer was replaced as prime minister in July and resigned from Parliament in September after losing the support of his Labour Party following a series of defeats, policy reversals and disastrous results in May's local elections.
The Greens made record gains in London in those elections, largely at Labour's expense, capitalizing on Starmer's unpopularity. However, the party has since lost ground in national polls after Burnham unveiled several policy proposals that bolstered Labour's support among left-wing voters, including a tougher stance on Israel and a more ambitious approach to relations with the European Union.