Latest news with #Polanski
Spectator
a day ago
- Politics
- Spectator
As a gay man, let me tell you the truth about Section 28
'As a gay man…' is a handy signal; in ninety-nine per cent of cases, it tells you that whatever follows is going to be irrelevant rubbish. This certainly held true during the excruciating appearance on Iain Dale's LBC show the other day by Zack Polanski, one of the candidates in the current campaign for leadership of the Green Party. Polanski had been ambushed by phone-in caller Dr Shahrar Ali, who isn't just a random member of the public. In fact, he is the former deputy leader of the Green Party, who last year won a legal case against them for discrimination without following a fair process. The Greens had removed Dr Ali during a row over his 'gender-critical beliefs', which is the posh way of saying he is unafraid to state that there are two sexes. On LBC, he asked Polanski why he couldn't offer a clear definition of what a woman is. The Greens purged Shahrar Ali for acknowledging the definition of women. So he phoned them up on LBC to ask if they can define a woman yet. 🍿 — Biology Rules Ok (@OkayBiology) July 25, 2025 Polanski reacted in the way that many progressive politicians do when faced with this poser; his eyes flicked from side to side and then cast down, his Adam's Apple bobbed, he scratched the side of his neck in a classic self-reassuring displacement gesture. He then launched into a textbook gender ramble of false premises, non sequiturs, cliches, platitudes and inaccuracies: Section 28 has given rise to plenty of self-dramatising nonsense about a piece of toothless and irrelevant legislation 'I think there's not a fixed definition of what a woman is because feminists and the feminists I listen to say they're not to be put in a box…it's complicated and it's on a spectrum…As a gay man, I can't stand it when people say 'gay men must be this or they must be that.' They must actually be gay to count, though, surely? Just as women must, actually, be women? But there was more to come: 'I lived through Section 28, I've experienced what it's like to be part of a community that feels like it's being hounded by – particularly right-wing – media'. We could be here all day picking apart this gibberish, but it was Polanski's 'I lived through Section 28' claim that particularly grabbed my attention. Why? Because he was five years old when this silly piece of legislation, designed to prevent local councils from 'promoting homosexuality', went on to the statute books in May 1988. Polanski is not alone in wheeling out this peculiar claim about having lived through Section 28, in a hushed and wounded tone as if he'd been on the Somme or was reflecting on the horrors of a tour of 'Nam in 1968. Gay politicians are always bringing it out. 'I still feel the pain of Section 28,' Labour MP Peter Kyle – who was in the headlines yesterday for his comments about Jimmy Savile – tweeted in 2020. 'I felt shame and confusion', he added. Type the dread cliché 'the long shadow of Section 28' into Google and you get literally hundreds of different results. To take one recent example, we have After the Act which ran recently in Manchester: 'A powerful new musical capturing the struggles and triumphs of the LGBTQ+ community during the turbulent 1980s. Set against the backdrop of Thatcher's infamous Section 28, the show explores themes of pride, protest, and resilience within the community'. As well as ignoring anything that comes after the phrase 'As a gay man…', it's worth remembering that whatever follows 'against the backdrop of…' is also sure to be rubbish. The truth is that Section 28 has given rise to plenty of self-dramatising nonsense about a piece of toothless and irrelevant legislation that had, as far as I could see aged 19 when it was introduced, very little effect at all. The atmosphere of the 1980s was certainly febrile. There was tabloid hysteria, for sure. But there was also – and this has been totally forgotten – utterly barmy overreaction from gay activists and the gay press in 1988 when that legislation was introduced. If you believed what you read, you'd be forgiven for thinking that gay people like me were about to be rounded up and put in concentration camps. But, when Section 28 became law, literally nothing happened. It was never used to prosecute anyone. Ah, but it supposedly had a 'chilling effect'. Really? The culture of 1988 – Erasure, the Pet Shop Boys, Julian Clary – suggests not. They didn't seem particularly chilled by what MPs were up to in Parliament. Another odd thing about the retrospective analysis of Section 28 is hearing how it affected 'the LGBTQ+ community'. No. It was specifically about homosexuality. Transvestites and Rocky Horror fans were not its targets, and furries, adult babies and their like had yet to be invented. Mentioning Section 28 in the same breath as women preserving their single-sex spaces – as Polanski did on his phone-in – is infuriating. And expecting men to respect the basic rights of women is not a 'right-wing tabloid moral panic'. Banging on about Section 28 now, 22 years after its repeal, and 36 years after its enactment, is bizarre. Other awful things from the period – Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards, the Reynolds Girl, Sylvester McCoy as Dr Who – are allowed to fade. But Section 28 burns on as a terrible trauma. It does cast a long shadow, yes: the long shadow of people talking rubbish about it. As a gay man, let me be the first to say: come off it!
New Statesman
10-07-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
Can the Green party ever work with Jeremy Corbyn?
Photo byPower is shifting on the left of politics. Last week saw the half-announcement of a new party co-led by Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn, representing the most significant breakaway from the Labour party in years. But while Corbyn and Sultana enjoy a cultish national following, their journey to left-wing dominance will depend on more than mere profile. Is a new party of the left viable without the support of the Greens? The Green party is currently in the middle of a defining leadership election. The current co-leader Adrian Ramsay and his fellow MP, Ellie Chowns are locked in a battle with Zack Polanski, the party's 'eco-populist' deputy leader. Whichever candidate emerges at the helm of the Greens will have a defining effect on the shape any future left-wing alliance will take. The Greens – with their existing voter base, more established party mechanisms and national organisation – are already filling the gap that a new left-wing force could be intended to fill. Polling this week by YouGov found that the Green Party could win more 2024 voters than a hypothetical Corbyn-led party (even from Reform: the Greens would take 10 per cent of 2024 voters from Reform whereas a new Corbyn-led party would take 3 per cent). Both Ramsay and Chowns and Polanski have made it clear that they would be open to working collaboratively with Sultana and Corbyn (or whoever it may eventually turn out to be) to capitalise on this gap at the next general election. But it is becoming increasingly apparent that an outright merger at the expense of the Greens is off the table. For Polanski, it would make more sense for left-wing MPs to join the Green party, rather than set up their own opposing force (and therefore risk splitting the vote). Shortly after Sultana's announcement, Polanski said that while he looked forward to seeing what happened, the left would be 'so much stronger and more effective' if disaffected MPs joined the Greens. Ramsay and Chowns have taken a more cautious approach. Ramsay told an upcoming episode of the New Statesman podcast (released on Sunday) that while he and Chowns are open to collaborating with any new party (and indeed parties across the political spectrum), the Green party must 'make sure that we retain our distinctive identity because that is what keeps a broad coalition of voters behind us'. Ramsay's comments suggest his and Chowns's leadership of the Greens would be one which is far less likely than Polanski's to welcome Sultana and Corbyn: they said they would not follow Polanski's calls to 'roll out the red carpet' for members of the Labour-left diaspora. And he and Polanski butted heads throughout the podcast – accusing each other of being 'offensive'. At one point, Polanski said Nigel Farage's success as a singular populist leader blew Ramsay's argument for the merits of a co-leadership model 'out of the water'. Whatever the result, Polanski and Ramsay's working relationship is unlikely to be harmonious. Ramsay's hesitancy is likely indicative of a deeper sense of unease among Green activists and members. As one insider told me, the real block to collaboration and cooperation with a new Sultana-Corbyn vehicle would be the party members. In 2019, when many of those who are involved in the running of the Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn, seeds of resentment were sewn between the Greens and the Labour left. Informal agreements between the parties during the general election – in which Green party candidates stood aside for their Labour opponents – were seen as exploitative by the Green cadres. Insiders told me that Green candidates and activists felt they were being sneered at by Labour. Their stepping-aside was seen as a given as the smaller party, despite proven evidence of the Greens ability to win areas which were traditionally Tory. The insider said that for any upcoming pact between the Greens and the left would need to be genuinely reciprocal; the Green party's fingers have been burnt by a sense of Labourite superiority. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe All of this leaves the Green party in a potentially very powerful position. The party holds the keys to unlocking and rousing a robust force to challenge Labour from the left. According to polling shared with the New Statesman by Stack Data Strategy, Labour currently runs the risk of losing more votes to the left than to the right. The results of August's leadership election will determine what form any future alliances or coalitions between the Green party and the new left will eventually take. What is clear, however, is that Sultana and Corbyn would be wise to consider the standing of their potential Green collaborators as their new party or movement begins to take shape. Otherwise, they could find themselves, as Starmer is likely to, dangerously exposed on the left. [See also: The left's losing streak] Related
New Statesman
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Are we entering a new era of left-wing infighting?
Photo Credit: Peter Nicholls / Getty Images After occupying a supporting role over the past five years, the radical left of British politics has been suddenly thrust into the spotlight. For a while, attention has largely focused on Zack Polanski, the 'eco-populist' vying to be elected leader of the Green Party in September. (He currently stands as the favourite.) An influx of interviews, clever comms and his outgoing personality took Polanski from a relative unknown to being anointed by some as the leader of the modern left-in-waiting. Late last Thursday evening (July 3), everything changed. After months of speculation, the British left's worst-kept secret was abruptly made official: Zara Sultana MP announced that she would resign from Labour and start a new, left-wing party alongside former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. (Sultana was suspended from Labour last July after voting against the two-child benefit cap.) There are still a lot of questions to be answered of this new left alliance: most pertinent of all concerning Corbyn – who was reportedly 'furious and bewildered' about the sudden announcement – and his involvement. 'Join us. The time is now,' Sultana urged in her declaration on X. Could this mean that Polanski and the Green party's riding of the new-left alternative wave is over? It could've turned out so differently. Another whisper doing the rounds at the same time as the Sultana-Corbyn party was the former having discussions with Polanski and potentially defecting to the Greens. 'I have thought about rolling out the red carpet for people like Zarah Sultana,' Polanski told my colleague Megan Kenyon in May. Talks happened, but the prospect of joining the Greens back in the spring never truly appealed to Sultana. Nor, does it seem, from her summer announcement, that Sultana is interested in any collaboration or pact with Polanski and his party. 'Billionaires already have three parties fighting for them. It's time the rest of us had one,' Sultana's statement read. It's very obviously a dig at the interests of Labour, the Conservatives and Lib Dems – but also a more implicit slight on the Green Party and its current (and future) ability to advance a progressive agenda. Despite getting rebuked by Sultana, Polanski's – public – reaction to the new party-slash-rival is one of a diplomat: 'Anyone who wants to take on the Tories, Reform and this failing Labour government is a friend of mine. Looking forward to seeing what this looks like in practice.' The left, in pursuit of its goals, often meets a persistent, often impenetrable force: the left. Left-on-left infighting isn't new, but should history repeat itself in today's political climate, it could detract from the shared aim of both Sultana and the Greens: to stop Nigel Farage's Reform Party and its lead in the polls. Exclusive polling shared with the New Statesman by More in Common found that a 'new Corbyn-led party' would receive 10 per cent of votes if an election was held today. Rather than harm, this analysis suggests, it would bolster Reform's lead in the polls (currently 27 per cent) by splitting the 'left' vote by cutting Labour's share by three points (from 23 per cent) and the Greens by four (from 9 per cent). The hard-yards earned by the Greens over the past year – from quadrupling its Parliamentary representation at last year's election, to building on its presence in regional government in May's local elections – could be lost with the inception of a new Sultana-Corbyn led party. Still, all hope is not lost for the Greens. Especially for Polanski: membership of the Green Party has reportedly risen at least 8 per cent since May (when he launched his leadership bid), in what some have described as a 'Polanski surge'. The findings from Novara Media suggest that the party (which has not officially declared its latest figures) has at least 65,000 members, a smidge behind its 2015 peak of 67,000. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe If a week's a long time in politics, then a year is a lifetime. When I followed the outgoing Green co-leader Carla Denyer on the campaign trail in Bristol last year, she told me that the overwhelming priority for the party, nationally, was to highlight its own merits – rather than just being seen as the logical place for Corbynistas to go following Labour's 'return to form' towards the centre of British politics. She raised the 2019 election, when she missed out on the Bristol seat she later won in 2024. The difficulty wasn't in winning the argument, Denyer told me, but of national circumstances: 'The challenge [in 2019] was that constituents wanted the Conservatives out, and they felt that they had to vote Labour to do that. We had people saying: 'We agree with you more… [but we] have to vote Labour this time.'' With Reform currently leading the polls as it is, perhaps history may repeat itself – only with the Tories being recast by Farage and Reform. That will be a challenge the Greens, a Sultana-Corbyn party and indeed Labour will have to contend with. But an ever more divided left could make that challenge extremely difficult to overcome. Related
The National
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Greens should be open to alliance with Jeremy Corbyn party
Polanski is challenging Green MPs Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns for the leadership of the party during an election this summer, and has been endorsed by around 100 councillors for the top job. He has been the deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales since 2022. The London Assembly member said he was open to a pact with anyone who could challenge the rise of Nigel Farage's Reform UK. READ MORE: How UK media are covering up British spy flights for Israel 'We have an increasingly unpopular Labour government that not only doesn't know how to handle it, but is actively making the conditions that are spurring on Nigel Farage even worse,' Polanski said in The Times. 'So I will ally myself with anyone who shares my and the Green Party's values.' Corbyn announced the launch of a new party, which does not yet have a name, last week. The Islington North MP and former Labour MP Zarah Sultana are set to 'co-lead the founding of a new party', with a leadership election to follow once it has been set up. Several independent MPs are expected to join Corbyn and Sultana in the new party. (Image: Stefan Rousseau/PA) Corbyn said: 'The democratic foundations of a new kind of political party will soon take shape. "Discussions are ongoing - and I am excited to work alongside all communities to fight for the future people deserve.' Elsewhere, a source told The National that a small group of left-leaning Scots have been working behind the scenes to prepare the Scottish arm ahead of the Holyrood election. However, with the party not yet fully-fledged, how many, if any, candidates it will stand is still up in the air. READ MORE: New poll predicts Reform Westminster win with no Scottish MPs Collective Scotland said in a statement it was looking to build "a full-fledged electoral alliance of the Scottish left" for next year's Holyrood election. While the statement did not mention Corbyn or Sultana directly, it said that "as the left across Britain comes together to form a new political party, the Scottish left now has a similar opportunity to unite". We previously told how Polanski said he could understand why Scots want independence after 'decades of neglect' by Westminster.
New Statesman
25-06-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
Keir Starmer has a problem: the left are organising
Photo by Kristian Buus/In Pictures One man has dominated opposition politics since the election: Nigel Farage. Reform UK now enjoys a consistent poll lead and is acknowledged by No 10 as Labour's foremost rival. Policies once considered fringe – such as cutting foreign aid, radically reducing immigration and leaving the European Convention on Human Rights – are increasingly mainstream. But while the radical right is insurgent, the radical left is submerged. This was not inevitable. A year ago the Green Party won four seats (and finished second in 40 others), Jeremy Corbyn was comfortably re-elected and four pro-Gaza independents entered parliament. Yet in an era of personality politics, no left counterpart to Farage has emerged. There are now tentative signs that could change. Until recently, Zack Polanski was an obscure name even in the dusty seminar rooms and pubs where the left's future is debated. But his Green Party leadership campaign – based on an 'eco-populist' platform – is changing that. Mindful that few voters can name either of the Greens' two co-leaders (the outgoing Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay), the 42-year-old Polanski has urged his party to emulate Farage's guerrilla tactics and abandon any hint of Lib Dem-style centrism. His aim, he told me, is to 'make Labour more scared of losing votes and seats to the Green Party than to Reform', vowing to outflank Keir Starmer on issues such as a wealth tax, the war in Gaza and the NHS. 'We're seeing this huge rift between establishment politics and the public,' he said, framing the economic divide as 'the 99 per cent vs the 1 per cent'. If this sounds Corbyn-esque, it's because it is. Some of Polanski's most visible champions are past stalwarts of that project: James Meadway, a former adviser to John McDonnell, and commentator Grace Blakeley are among those who have joined the Greens in recent weeks. ('It's like football transfer season,' quips one Labour source.) Aided by the Momentum-style group Greens Organise, Polanski supporters say they have recruited thousands of new members – enough, they believe, to give them victory over the parliamentary duo of Ramsay and Ellie Chowns. But just as Polanski eyes the left crown, Corbyn is speaking ever more openly of a new party. 'This whole cause is coming together so that by next year's local elections – long before that, I hope – we're going to have something in place,' he declared at the recent Conference of Resistance in Huddersfield. The model, one Corbyn ally tells me, would be France's New Popular Front, which unified the country's historically fractured left, and finished first in the 2024 National Assembly election (with 182 seats). 'There's a large hole in politics. You can see it from the very low turnout figures, the high levels of volatility and Labour being in the low twenties,' they remarked. Some on the British left want a clean break with Corbyn – one sceptic recalls the dismal fate of Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour Party – but a new alliance is not without electoral potential. Polling by More in Common, shared exclusively with the New Statesman, shows a 'new Corbyn-led party' would win 10 per cent of the vote, reducing Labour's share from 23 per cent to 20 per cent (putting it level with Kemi Badenoch's moribund Conservatives). Notably, the Corbynite party would finish first among 18- to 24-year-olds with 32 per cent. The Greens, in this scenario, would fall from 9 per cent to 5 per cent, while Reform remains on 27 per cent. (Corbyn allies say they favour an electoral pact, with one praising Polanski's 'energetic campaign'.) Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Senior Labour critics complain that the party has a 'forgotten flank', fixating on Reform defectors rather than on Green or Lib Dem ones. Strategists reject this charge, pointing to progressive policies such as Ed Miliband's GB Energy, the workers' rights bill and free breakfast clubs. But Labour's soft left – which assembled at the recent Compass conference – is discussing the creation of a new internal organisation to exert pressure on Starmer. For the Labour leader, electoral headaches abound. The Middle East crisis has drawn new attention to the advance of pro-Gaza independents (who have formed a parliamentary faction with Corbyn). In May's local elections, such candidates won in half of the districts where more than 30 per cent of adults are Muslims. 'Labour has a real and deep-rooted problem with the Muslim community,' said one senior figure. 'This isn't going away – it's bigger than Iraq was and it will still be there at the next general election' (where independents are projected to win as many as 25 seats). Luke Tryl, the executive director of More in Common, likens the sense of betrayal among Muslim voters in focus groups to that of Red Wall voters in 2016: as with Brexit, Gaza has triggered a realignment. Yet, strange as it may seem, there is still a hopeful story that Labour can tell about the next general election. Insiders are encouraged by polling showing that Starmer holds a 15-point lead over Farage as the public's preferred prime minister. In such circumstances, Labour deserters would vote tactically for the party to thwart Reform's advance on Downing Street. Like Canada's Mark Carney and Australia's Anthony Albanese before him, Starmer would win by building a broad anti-populist coalition. But should the radical left rise again, the risk is that his fate instead resembles that of Germany's vanquished Olaf Scholz: losing votes to everyone, everywhere, all at once. [See more: Farage and Badenoch's Iran headache] Related
