Greens examining how party decides policy as membership triples under Zack Polanski | Green party

Senior Greens are exploring ways to revamp the party’s structures to make them more effective and representative; The party’s membership has more than tripled since Zack Polanski became leader.

Under the party’s model of direct democracy, policy is voted on only by members attending one of two annual conferences; a system that some Greens believe risks empowering organized fringe activists who struggle to attend events.

Although no decisions have been made yet, it may be a possibility for local parties to nominate delegates who will speak and vote on behalf of members. Another option would be to maintain single-member democracy but allow online voting.

When Polanski became leader of the party in England and Wales last September, the party had around 68,000 members. Now there are more than 230,000.

“There is an argument in the sense that many people say: the party has changed a lot and the structures have not changed with it,” said one Green official.

“Currently, the face-to-face voting system means it only includes members who can afford to book a hotel and take a few days off work; it’s pretty much self-selection. It’s always been that way, but now it’s more disproportionate, not 1,000 out of 68,000, but 1,000 out of 230,000.”

Another party figure said there was growing recognition that the system needed review: “When 0.05% of members make policy decisions, things have to change. We all know that.”

While the Greens claim that the member-led system allows for a broad base of views, the ability of rank-and-file members to suggest policy can cause controversy, such as a motion at the spring conference in March that sought to bind the party to the view that “Zionism is racism”.

The motion has been postponed due to procedural and technical difficulties but could be returned for the fall conference in October.

Officials say that, as with many current difficulties in the party, much of the problem stems from a lack of resources to cope with so many members, but this is gradually changing as the Greens’ financial situation improves.

The logistics of Green party conferences have been organized by the same single person for nearly 20 years; But there is a team to help them this year.

Some senior Greens also argue that Polanski has been too focused on broadcasting the party’s message and has not devoted enough time to improving the internal structures that will be needed to win more council and parliamentary seats.

“The leader is traditionally a spokesperson rather than the kind of leader seen in other parties, and I think Zack hides a little bit behind that by not making decisions sometimes,” one of them said. “But at the same time, it’s a big task and there’s only one of it.”

Another debate among senior Greens is whether this leadership model would also be outdated for a party that is so numerically large and has a high vote share of 19% nationally.

Until 2008 the Greens had what were known as “chief speakers” rather than leaders, and even now the leader’s powers are very limited; There is only one vote among nearly two dozen members. party executive committee.

Some Greens argue this does not give a leader with Polanski’s credentials (he won almost 85 percent of members) enough flexibility to make choices on policy, having to wait until the next conference.

A senior figure said: “There must be a balance between the policies set by the conference, the leader must be given some trust and leeway, and there must be ways to hold them accountable if necessary. This will help the party become more agile.”

Others dispute this. A party official said Polanski, who routinely expresses his views in broadcast interviews and on social media, has the ability to “interpret core values ​​while reacting to events as they unfold” and that Green members would object if he went too far.

The Greens face another decision: although they won the by-elections in Gorton and Denton and are hopeful of being voted in for mayor of Manchester, how best should they respond to Andy Burnham’s premiership?

One party figure said: “We need to think hard about this and how we continue to differentiate ourselves. We have done a good job of being the more approachable and hopeful option to Keir Starmer’s left and that role may be about to be filled by Burnham.”