Zack Polanski has claimed that Labour MPs are in discussions to defect to the Green Party.
The revelation came as he was speaking about welcoming new members into the Green Party, on The News Agents podcast.
When pressed, he admitted that he had been in discussions with Labour MPs about potential defections though he declined to name any MPs or say how many he had been in discussions with.
The impacts of a defection
Defections from MPs are not uncommon in modern politics and they very rarely shift the balance of power in parliament. This is especially unlikely in this parliament, given Labour’s 148 seat majority.
Nevertheless, what defections do show is momentum and a sign of the political times. It would severely undermine Starmer’s government, as well as boosting the profile of the Greens.
Any potential Labour defection would mark the first time any MP had defected to the Greens and would be the first defection from Labour to another party since 2019, when seven MPs left to form “Change UK” in response to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is no stranger to losing MPs. Already around 12 MPs have left or been suspended from the party, with around nine of them leaving as a result of disagreements with party leadership.
Zack Polanski clearly spies the potential gain from Labour defections which would raise his profile even further and continue to strengthen the idea of the Greens as an electoral force.
But he also said in the interview that “It’s not my decision, that’s up to the party” which shows he is very aware of the potential damages that could come from admitting MPs from other parties, especially from a party your own members don’t back.
An example of this was Natalie Elphicke, a right-wing conservative MP, who defected to Labour during Rishi Sunak’s term which caused a stir in the Labour Party and was seen as more bewildering than anything else. Starmer’s decision to admit her was controversial.
Rather than having to rely on previously rival MPs, who may not align with the party, Polanski seems to want to continue building his electoral campaign and has admitted that defections weren’t so much of a priority anymore.
“I was dying for a defection a few months ago. I thought a defection is what gets us the attention and the energy” he said. “But I think we’re in a place where we don’t need defections at this point”
His words may sound arrogant but Zack Polanski certainly has plenty of reasons to feel confident, even without the encouraging prospect of new MPs joining the party.
Yet more good news for the Greens
The rapid increase in Green Party membership shows no signs of stopping. Their membership is now at 110,000, an increase of 20,000 since the Green’s conference just under 2 weeks ago.
That number places them just 10,000 members shy of the Conservative Party. Overtaking them would give the Greens the third largest party membership in the UK and would only continue to increase their prestige and legitimacy
The Greens would need something of a miracle to surpass either Reform or Labour who stand at 250,000 and 309,000 members respectively. But as with defections, membership numbers matter less than what they represent and what the Green’s membership show is a resurgent party with grassroots support.
More good news for Polanski came in the form of a poll which suggested that the Greens were now equal with Labour. Around 15 per cent of respondents said they would vote for both and appears to show that Polanski may have already succeeded in ‘replacing’ the Labour Party.
However that poll still places them around 17 points behind the Reform Party and even places them below the significantly diminished Conservatives. Zack Polanski doesn’t need to just leap-frog Labour, he also needs to challenge the right-wing parties electorally.
Still, these headlines will only serve to boost his cause and further increase awareness of both his party and himself. It is now impossible to ignore the Green Party and Polanski wants to keep people talking. Potential defections will do exactly that.
Featured Image Credit: Rob Browne via Wikimedia
1st year Journalism and History Student
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