Green leader says Starmer is ‘not a man I would be willing to work with’
Zack Polanski said Sir Keir Starmer was “not a man I would want to work with” when asked if the Green Party would make a deal with Labor to defeat Reform Britain.
The self-described “eco-populist” said he doubted whether the Prime Minister would be an MP at the next election, but did not rule out working with another Labor leader depending on who was in office.
He told Trevor Phillips on Sky News on Sunday Morning that Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome would be “perfect”, but: “I don’t think that’s something she necessarily has in her ambitions at the moment.”
He said: “A poll yesterday showed the majority of the population has completely lost confidence in Keir Starmer, now a man who ran after Jeremy Corbyn but walked back every promise before he even came to power.
“We’ve got the two-child benefit limit, we’ve got disability cuts, we’ve got the genocide in Gaza – no, Keir Starmer is not a man I’d want to work with.
“I don’t think Keir Starmer will be prime minister at the next election – whether he will be an MP is another question – and will I work with a future Labor leader? It depends on who the future Labor leader is.”
The Green Party leader has been told he will “make no election deal, even if informal”, with Labor, despite a split on the left allowing Reform to take Reform to number 10.
Mr Polanski pointed to a poll this week that put his party three points ahead of Labor and put Sir Keir’s party in fourth place.
He added: “The real question you need to ask Keir Starmer is: Will he step aside to make sure Nigel Farage doesn’t become prime minister?”
Wednesday’s Find Out Now poll interviewed 2,717 Britons about their voting intentions and found the Greens received 18 per cent of the vote, compared with 15 per cent for Labor.
According to the poll, Reform England’s rate is 33 percent and Conservative Party’s is 16 percent.
In an interview with the Sky News programme, Mr Polanski wore white poppies, which he said were created after the First World War “mostly by women’s groups talking about peace and anti-fascism”.
He said it symbolized “looking to the future and saying we want a peaceful world.”
The Green Party wants every country, including Russia, to be denuclearized, and the leader has been told this “will be in the land of miracles”.
Mr. Polanski replied: “These are really serious issues, and I also believe that we should never leave the negotiating table.
“Part of that is showing the moral and courageous leadership that can go on television and tell you – even though it’s a mockery – I don’t think we should ridicule peace and diplomacy; in fact, the bravest, bravest and most authentic thing that can be done is to say, ‘I believe we can have a world without war.'”
Asked whether he would negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr. Polanski said: “Undoubtedly. I think it would be sociopathic to say that you will not negotiate with the president or prime minister of any country.”
