Green Party leader Patrick Polanski addressed his party's conference, urging members to vote Green to influence Labour's policies. He highlighted the Greens' role in pushing Labour towards more progressive stances on issues such as oil and gas drilling delays due to electoral concerns. Polanski also announced a new policy proposal for controlling private sector rent increases and called for Palestine Action's status as a banned terrorist organisation to be revoked, leading to expected debates at the conference over Israel-Palestine relations.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Zack Polanski, leader of The Green Party in England and Wales, called for a three-year cap on private rent increases at his party's conference in Brighton. The proposed "emergency brake" would limit annual rent hikes to either the lowest rate among inflation (measured by Consumer Price Index), wage growth, or 2%. This measure aims to address rising housing costs that have forced many young adults and families to move back home with their parents due to unaffordable rents.
Polanski argued that the policy would reduce the £13.4 billion pounds spent annually on subsidizing high private sector rent through housing benefits, potentially reallocating those funds towards building new council homes and repairing existing stock. The initiative follows a period of increased Green Party membership and electoral success since Polanksi took over as leader last year.
In his speech, Polanski emphasized the Greens' ability to influence Labour policies by securing votes, particularly highlighting the recent delay in government approval for new oil and gas drilling projects due to concerns about losing support to the Greens. He encouraged party members and supporters to vote Green to force Labour towards adopting more progressive measures. However, with Labour's national polls showing signs of weakening, Polanski faces questions on how to maintain this strategy long-term without alienating Labour voters.
Written for “Zack Polanski Green Party Speech” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.
“Vote Green and watch Labour move,” he told members.
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he → vote → members
The Green leader is standing in the Holborn and St Pancras parliamentary by-election, with the aim of winning the seat previously held by ex-prime minister Sir Keir Starmer from Labour for the first time in its electoral history.
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leader → stand → history
He told the conference: “A few weeks ago, we heard that the Government had delayed giving the green light to new oil and gas drilling at Rosebank and Jackdaw.
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Government → tell → Rosebank
Because they’re worried about losing votes to the Greens.
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they → ’re → Greens
“That makes me hopeful, because that is the difference our party makes: Vote Green and watch Labour move.”
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Labour → make → Green
He added: “Voting Green, between general elections, with our six or five MPs, is the most powerful vote you can make and here’s two reasons why.
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reasons → add → MPs
Making the change our neighbours, our communities, so desperately need.
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neighbours → make → change
“And second: at general elections, the Government changes.
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Government → change → elections
But between general elections we change the Government.”
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we → change → Government
A Green Party spokesperson later told reporters the message of voting Green to change Labour’s direction could be sustainable in the longer-term, and insisted it would not lead to disgruntled Labour voters returning to their old party.
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voters → tell → party
“There are still areas where Labour don’t go far enough,” they said, pointing to wealth taxes, Gaza, nationalising the water sector, and climate change, among the areas where the Greens had a more radical message than Labour.
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Greens → be → Labour
Mr Polanski used his address to set out a new Green Party policy to control rises in private sector rents, modelled on the pensions triple lock.
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Polanski → use → lock
Read More
He called for a “a three-year emergency brake on private rents”, adding: “No rent rises above CPI, wage growth or 2% – whichever is lower.
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whichever → read → CPI
“That emergency brake would give renters vital breathing space.
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brake → give → space
“Let wages begin to catch up with the rents that have outstripped them for far too long.
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that → let → them
“And in the long term, we’ll put in place a national fair rents guarantee to keep rents affordable for everyone, forever.”
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we → put → everyone
Elsewhere in his speech, Mr Polanski called for Palestine Action to have its status as a banned terrorist organisation revoked.
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status → call → organisation
He told the audience: “The sight of pensioners being put in handcuffs and bundled into police vans for holding up cardboard signs – that has been a stain and a shame on this country’s reputation for far too long.”
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that → tell → reputation
Chants of “Free, free Palestine” could be heard from some Green members in the hall, who were wearing Palestinian keffiyeh scarves around their necks or across their shoulders.
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who → hear → shoulders
The Green Party appears to be moving towards a row over Israel and Palestine on the conference floor over the weekend.
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Party → appear → weekend
Green members are expected to debate a policy motion on Sunday which declares “Zionism is racism”.
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Zionism → expect → Sunday
Caroline Lucas, who became the Green Party’s first MP in 2010, warned it would be divisive.
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it → become → 2010
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday: “I do have serious concerns about that motion.
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I → tell → motion
“I think there is no single definition of Zionism and, irrespective of the intentions of those who put that motion, I think there is a real risk that it will be divisive and could be seen as a sign that Jewish people aren’t welcome in the party.
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people → think → party
“I will not be supporting it for that reason.”
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I → support → reason
She also said: “When it comes to Israel and Palestine, we are agreed that we need to call out the genocide in Gaza, that the Government needs to be doing much more, that there should be a two-way embargo with Israel on trade, and the Government must overturn the proscription of Palestine Action.”
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Government → say → Action
Adrian Ramsay, a former Green co-leader, also voiced concerns about the motion to the Times newspaper.
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Ramsay → voice → newspaper
Mr Polanski left the party conference after his speech to continue campaigning in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
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Polanski → leave → election
Signs around the conference centre encouraged Green members to also leave Brighton to join the campaign, knocking on doors across the north London constituency.
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Signs → encourage → constituency
The Aporia
