LONDON — Green Party Leader Zack Polanski warned Friday that there is no future for the Labour Party under Andy Burnham — the U.K.’s incoming prime minister — unless he proves that he is not “completely like Keir Starmer.”
In an interview with POLITICO to discuss how the leftist party will handle Labour’s leadership change, Polanski said Burnham needed to take up Green policies to win over young people. And he labelled claims Burnham made as he was elected Labour leader “bizarre.”
Burnham said Friday that he would carve out a uniquely “Labour” identity for the party, and promised he would not try to “out-Green the Greens.” Some MPs in the governing party have felt pressure from the Greens at a local level, while Polanski’s troops snatched a Commons seat off Labour in a by-election earlier this year. Burnham vowed to “give hope back” to neglected constituents across the country.
Polanski — whose political broadcasts have used the slogan “let’s make hope normal again” — said “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” but argued that Burnham’s “vibes-based” hope is “a distraction from actually doing the policies.”
He told POLITICO that the Green agenda — which includes promised wealth taxes, rent controls, and measures to tackle climate change — makes for “the most popular policy platform with the under-50s.”
“By saying we’re not going to out-Green the Greens, what I’m really hearing them say is I’m going to continue to sit on the fence and not really keep anyone happy, which sounds completely like Keir Starmer,” Polanski charged.
Starmer fiercely criticized Polanski in the run up to May’s English local elections, including labelling him “soft on Putin” during a Commons debate.
Polanski described the attacks as “toxic” as he appealed to Burnham for “robust debate” rather than “character assassinations.”
But he said the Manchester mayor-turned -PM would be “undoubtedly” easier to work with than Starmer.
“I don’t think he’s a pantomime villain at all,” he added, pointing to rhetorical progress on issues like Gaza. Burnham apologized last week, saying the Labour party had “got it wrong” in declining to more openly criticize Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza.
As Starmer contemplates his future, there is speculation over whether he will resign as a member of parliament. Polanski said he would be “incredibly tempted” to stand in Holborn and St Pancras if the seat does become vacant.
