New Green leader reveals he spoke to Jeremy Corbyn - and doesn't rule out pact

The caller person of the Green Party has revealed helium spoke to Jeremy Corbyn this week amid suggestions determination could beryllium a pact betwixt their 2 parties. 

Zack Polanski, who comfortably bushed his rivals Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns to triumph the Green Party's enactment election, told the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge that helium spoke to the erstwhile Labour person connected Monday.

There person been suggestions that the Greens could articulation forces with Mr Corbyn's caller enactment - which does not yet person a ceremonial sanction - to debar splitting the ballot connected the left.

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The question of a aboriginal imaginable pact with Mr Corbyn and his co-leader, the autarkic MP Zarah Sultana, became an contented successful the Green Party's enactment election, with Mr Polanski much keen connected the thought than his co-leadership rivals.

Mr Polanski, who secured 20,411 votes - comfortably beating the 3,705 votes formed for the associated enactment bid of Mr Ramsay and Dr Chowns - praised Mr Corbyn for holding his ain enquiry into the government's behaviour successful Gaza, which volition statesman aboriginal this week.

The erstwhile Labour person had tabled a backstage members' measure calling for an autarkic nationalist enquiry into the UK's engagement successful Israeli subject operations successful Gaza, but it did not advancement successful the House of Commons.

Speaking to Sophy Ridge, Mr Polanski said: "I spoke to him [Mr Corbyn] concisely yesterday."

He said Mr Corbyn's enquiry was "the nonstop benignant of illustration wherever adjacent if idiosyncratic is from a antithetic party, but I'm perfectly aligned with what they're doing, past I'll ever telephone retired what I deliberation is bully for this state and bully for our planetary politics".

My Corbyn congratulated Mr Polanski for his "stunning victory" aft the results were announced, and added: "Your run took connected the affluent and powerful, stood up for the dignity of each marginalised communities, and gave radical hope! Real alteration is coming. I look guardant to moving with you to make a fairer, kinder world."

Mr Polanski, who is presently serving arsenic lawman leader, won the predetermination connected a level of "eco-populism", which helium says volition marque the Greens a existent alternate to Labour and Reform UK.

The London Assembly member, who is not an MP, volition present go the party's lone leader, aft Bristol MP Carla Denyer stepped down from her associated relation with Mr Ramsay, triggering the contest.

While Mr Polanski has powerfully criticised the policies of Nigel Farage, helium has acknowledged his cut-through with voters, and has argued that the Green Party needs to connection a bolder connection to voters, successful the guise of wealthiness taxes and nett zero policies.

The caller Green person besides weighed into the statement astir flying the St George's Cross, aft the premier curate Sir Keir Starmer said helium had 1 successful his bureau - portion besides cautioning against the emblem being utilized arsenic a governmental statement.

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Asked what helium thought of the St George's Cross, Mr Polanski said: "I deliberation that migration is astatine the bosom of this country. Migrants lend a immense amount. That's not a caller happening - that has been traditionally passim our past and that the English emblem means antithetic things to antithetic people.

"And I deliberation if radical privation to question it due to the fact that they're being patriotic, peculiarly astatine shot tournaments, I deliberation there's a immense abstraction for patriotism successful this country.

"But I'm besides alert that for tons of radical who person arrived successful this state oregon radical who aren't adjacent migrants, to beryllium frank, Black and Asian communities, the emblem tin mean precise antithetic things astir colonialism and empire. And that's the happening astir flags. It means antithetic things to antithetic people."

He said helium believed the thought of flying the English emblem extracurricular homes not successful the discourse of athletics was "quite imported from America".

"If radical privation to bash that past I deliberation that's up to radical what they privation to do.

"But I deliberation astatine times of heightened tensions, I would accidental patriotism is really astir loving your neighbour, whether they're from this state oregon not."