Labour panic as Zack Polanski targets union funding – Starmer rattled | Politics | News
Zack Polanski wants unions to stop funding Labor and donate to the Greens instead (Image: Getty)
Zack Polanski and the Greens have made an audacious bid to “replace Labor” by trying to take over the union’s finances. The Green Party leader has made the first of a series of major speeches to unions, urging them to stop funding Labor and shift their support to him.
Mr. Polanski spoke at the National Education Association conference in Brighton on Monday, calling for action on rent controls, water nationalization and energy bills. A Green Party spokesman said: “This is the first in a series of major speeches by Polanski to unions as part of his party’s bid to ‘replace Labour’.” A stunned Sir Keir Starmer lashed out at the Green leader, saying Britain would be “weak and vulnerable” if Mr Polanski, Nigel Farage or Kemi Badenoch were in government.
The Prime Minister said of the Green Party leader: “With war on two fronts, he thinks it is time to give up our NATO membership and start negotiations with Putin on nuclear deterrence.”
Read more: Zack Polanski gets into angry argument with journalist who says his family is ‘disgusted’
“If any of these people were in government we would be very weak and vulnerable and so it is really important that we stick to our principles, stick to our values and show the leadership that is needed at a time like this.”
The Unite union has voted to reduce the membership fee it pays Labor by 40% over the party’s actions regarding striking refuse workers in Birmingham.
The union said the drop of £580,000 from the previous funding level of £1.45 million was unprecedented and revealed the anger of its members a year after all-out industrial action began in the city.
May’s local elections are a big test for the Prime Minister; Others warn that a disastrous outcome could mean the end of his premiership.
Labor is struggling at the polls and faces challenges from both Reform UK on the Right and the resurgent Green Party from the Left.
Pollster Lord Robert Hayward warned in early March that Labor faced a “very significant” threat, especially after a series of “absolutely appalling” council by-election results.
This included the defeat of the Greens in the Gorton and Denton parliamentary race in February.
Speaking at the launch of Labour’s local election campaign, Sir Keir said MPs and election candidates were “fighting for Labor votes, for Labor values and for Labor pride, regardless of whether you come from across the country – it’s so important for us to build a Britain for everyone.”
He continued: “The background of these elections is unclear.
“We face a war on two fronts – the Ukrainian war that has lasted four and a half years – and let us salute the courage shown over the years by Ukrainians, both on the front lines and civilians, fighting for important values.
“And now the other front, the other war, the Iran war, which I know is causing great concern.
“People look at their screens and when they see the explosions, the infrastructure blown up, the rhetoric that goes with it, they worry, they worry about whether this is going to escalate further.”
