The 'eco-populist' Green Party leader who wants to be the Farage of the Left

Zack Polanski, the new leader of the Green Party, has been studying one politician closely this summer - Nigel Farage.

The 42-year-old, who stormed his party's leadership contest by a large margin, calls himself an "eco-populist" (he used to be involved in Extinction Rebellion), and thinks the Greens could learn a lot from the media-savvy tactics of Reform which have seen them surge ahead of Labour in the polls. Politics latest: Chancellor faces 'toxic combination' as UK borrowing costs soar Can the former actor and hypnotherapist, who rails against corporations and wants to tax the rich, take his party into the big leagues? Speaking to him after his win was announced, Mr Polanski told me: "I despise Nigel Farage's politics and I'd never copy what he does, but it's undeniable that he cuts through; everyone knows who he is and that bold messaging - but for the truth, not the lies and misinformation he spins - that's what you'll hear more of from the Green Party." Mr Polanski is not an MP - he's been on the London Assembly since 2021 and served as the party's deputy leader.

His two rivals in the leadership contest Adrian Ramsay, one of the party's current leaders, and Ellie Chowns, were elected last year, but are not well-known to the public. His more aggressive style and punchy social media clips appealed to party members impatient for results.

His videos target "corporations who are destroying our democracy"; warn that "fascism is at our doorstep" and "call bullshit" - as he puts it - on the debate about asylum. As one of the members at the event summed it up: "People don't know what we stand for, we need to be loud and clear about what we're for and what we're against, and Zac will do that." He's put some noses out of joint within the party, and the tabloid press has called him the "boob whisperer" after The Sun reported in 2013 that, while working as a hypnotherapist, he told a woman who wanted bigger breasts that she could do so with the power of her mind.

Mr Polanski apologised and says he is focused on the future. His ambitions are high for the fifth party in British politics - currently polling at around 10%.

"Thirty to forty MPs at the next election.