Rolling over and letting people bite your belly is not the best option
When a political party rises from the margins toward genuine power, it enters a crucible that tests not just its policies but its character. The UK Green Party, now polling near second place nationally, has discovered what Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats learned in 2010: visibility invites assault, and the press does not distinguish neatly between accountability and spectacle. Leader Zack Polanski, himself Jewish and navigating serious allegations of antisemitism within his own ranks, has chosen to meet the storm head-on — a posture that may define both the party's integrity and its limits.
- The Greens' surge in the polls has triggered a media avalanche ranging from genuine scandal — candidates arrested over antisemitic posts — to tabloid absurdity about dog licensing and zoo bans.
- Serious antisemitic incidents, including a stabbing attack on two Jewish men in Golders Green and multiple candidates' inflammatory social media posts, have placed the party under urgent moral scrutiny.
- Polanski has responded not with retreat but with escalation — engaging lawyers over a Times cartoon, calling out journalists by name, and accusing the Daily Mail of running a 'rightwing propaganda machine.'
- The combative strategy has fractured opinion even among allies, with some seeing a necessary fighter and others, including Jewish journalist Nicole Lampert, warning that his thin-skinned aggression signals unfitness to govern.
- The party's internal posture — willing to 'bare their teeth' while dismissing rightwing media opinion — reflects a calculated bet that defiance will consolidate rather than alienate their growing base.
The Green Party's climb toward second place in national polling has transformed it from a curiosity into a target. The coverage that followed mirrors a familiar pattern: in 2010, the Liberal Democrats' surge was met with a Daily Mail headline branding Nick Clegg with Nazi associations. Now the Greens face a similar gauntlet, with tabloids mocking their animal welfare policies and broadsheets pursuing more serious allegations.
The most damaging stories have concerned antisemitism. Two Lambeth council candidates were arrested over antisemitic social media posts; a Walsall candidate had written of 'Jewish cockroaches' in 2023. These revelations landed as antisemitic violence was rising across Britain, including a stabbing attack on two Jewish men in Golders Green — an attack that would pull party leader Zack Polanski directly into controversy when he shared a post criticising police conduct at the scene. The Metropolitan Police commissioner wrote to condemn his commentary as inaccurate. Polanski apologised for the haste of the share, but did not stand down.
Polanski, who is Jewish and describes himself as the only Jewish leader of a major British political party, has adopted an openly combative posture. When The Times published a cartoon he believed carried antisemitic undertones, the party engaged lawyers. When the Daily Mail ran a story claiming his family feared his policies would drive them from Britain, he attacked the paper publicly. The freelance journalist behind the piece, Nicole Lampert — also Jewish — later wrote that his aggression made him unfit to lead. Polanski called her 'parasitic.'
Few frontline politicians have waged such open warfare with the press. Within the party, the approach is defended as necessary: Green peer Jenny Jones recalled years of begging journalists for coverage and argued that passivity invites further attack. Party insiders speak of being willing to 'bare their teeth.' Whether Polanski's combativeness will read as principled defiance or as the portrait his critics are drawing remains the central, unresolved question of his leadership.
The Green Party's sudden rise in the polls has made it a target. What began as legitimate questions about party policy has sprawled into the kind of media feeding frenzy that smaller parties learn to expect the moment they stop being marginal. The comparison is apt: in 2010, when Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats surged, the Daily Mail greeted his popularity with the headline "Clegg in Nazi slur on Britain." Now, as the Greens climb toward second place in national polling, the scrutiny has intensified across tabloids and broadsheets alike.
The stories range from the substantive to the absurd. The Sun ran with "Woke Greens slammed as 'barking mad' over plans to license dog owners and ban zoos," while warning readers that the party intended to disestablish the Church of England and ban horse racing. The Mail on Sunday exposed a candidate who had used a racial slur to describe David Lammy and Priti Patel, and revealed another who believed Britain should return the Falkland Islands to Argentina. But the most serious allegations have centered on antisemitism. Two candidates standing for Lambeth council were arrested over antisemitic social media posts. Another, in Walsall, had referred to "Jewish cockroaches" in a 2023 post. These revelations arrived against the backdrop of rising antisemitic violence in Britain, including a stabbing attack on two Jewish men in Golders Green.
The party's leader, Zack Polanski, who is himself Jewish, has become a focal point of the controversy. After the Golders Green attack, he shared a social media post criticizing police officers for "repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head" while responding to the incident. The Metropolitan Police commissioner, Mark Rowley, sent a letter condemning Polanski's "inaccurate and misinformed commentary." Polanski later apologized for sharing the post hastily. But he did not retreat. When The Times published a cartoon he believed deployed antisemitic tropes in its depiction of him, the Greens engaged lawyers and issued a statement calling the image "astonishing" given the rising climate of antisemitism and the fact that Polanski is the only Jewish leader of a major political party in the country.
Polanski has adopted a combative stance toward journalists and outlets he views as hostile. On Good Morning Britain, he bristled at questions from Ed Balls about the party's border policy, suggesting the former Labour cabinet minister was not an impartial observer. He later reshared a post describing Balls as a "classroom bully." When the Daily Mail ran a story claiming his family feared he would force them to leave Britain if elected, Polanski struck back on social media, pointing to the Greens' polling strength and accusing the paper of running a "rightwing propaganda machine." The freelance reporter who wrote the piece, Nicole Lampert, responded in kind, writing that she had spoken to family members frightened by antisemitism in the party. Polanski called her behavior "parasitic." Lampert, also Jewish, later wrote in the Jewish News that his "thin skin" made him unfit to govern.
Few frontline British politicians have waged quite such an open war with sections of the press. Some sympathetic to the Greens see the coverage as evidence of a progressive party struggling against a rightwing media environment. Others invoke Enoch Powell's observation that politicians complaining about the press is like a ship's captain complaining about the sea. But within the Green Party, and among some observers, Polanski's aggressive response is precisely what voters want to see. Jenny Jones, a former deputy mayor of London and now a Green peer, noted that the party spent years begging for media attention. When she was more prominent in the party, she had to "pester" journalists for airtime. Now, requests pour in. "Rolling over and letting people bite your belly is not the best option," she said of Polanski's approach. "You can't let that sort of bullying go on without fighting back. I think people like it—they like that sort of clarity."
The Greens' media team has pushed back aggressively behind the scenes, and party insiders speak of being willing to "bare their teeth." One source said the party was not interested in what the rightwing media thought but would not allow hostile narratives to go unchallenged. From the journalists' perspective, the Greens are simply good copy—colorful characters with striking policies that make for compelling stories. As long as the polling numbers hold, Polanski and his colleagues should expect the scrutiny to continue. The question is whether his combative approach will burnish his image as a fighter or confirm the portrait his critics are painting.
Notable Quotes
Rolling over and letting people bite your belly is not the best option. You can't let that sort of bullying go on without fighting back. I think people like it—they like that sort of clarity.— Jenny Jones, Green Party peer
We're not really interested in what the rightwing media thinks of us, but we are not going to let that narrative be laid down—we will be firm in our responses.— Green Party insider
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a party's rise in the polls seem to trigger this particular kind of media response?
Because smaller parties are easier targets. When you're marginal, you're not worth the effort. But the moment you threaten the established order, you become a story—and editors love a story about something unexpected and potentially dangerous.
But some of the coverage seems genuinely unfair. The cartoon, the family story. How does Polanski decide when to fight back and when to let it go?
He doesn't seem to let much go. That's partly his temperament, but it's also strategic. If you're a new force in politics, silence reads as weakness. He's learned that hitting back—hard and publicly—signals strength to his base.
Is there a real antisemitism problem in the Green Party, or is this being weaponized against them?
Both things can be true. There are documented cases of candidates making antisemitic remarks. That's real and serious. But it's also being used as a cudgel by opponents. Polanski's position is complicated because he's Jewish himself, so when he pushes back on the narrative, it complicates the usual political dynamics.
What does he risk by being so combative?
He risks looking thin-skinned, like he can't take criticism. He risks alienating journalists who might otherwise cover the party fairly. But he also risks looking weak if he doesn't fight. There's no safe middle ground when you're rising this fast.
Do voters actually like this approach?
Some do. Party insiders and sympathetic observers say people want to see a leader who won't be pushed around. But it's also creating a narrative about him—that he's aggressive, that he's thin-skinned—that may stick regardless of whether it's fair.