Green Party insiders have said a sense of unease and panic has overcome the party just days from crucial local elections in England following the row over antisemitism which has seen some candidates arrested.
There is also concern over the way leader Zack Polanski has handled the issue, particularly his recent row with the Met Police over the way they tackled a man who had allegedly stabbed two Jewish men in Golders Green in north London in a terrorist incident.
Canvassers who had enjoyed a positive reception on doorsteps during a campaign expected to deliver record gains for the Green Party of England and Wales are uneasy about the force of the backlash they are seeing, sources say.
Party insiders argue they have faced attacks from across the political spectrum due to the new-found popularity under Polanski’s leadership.
But they also said there was horror over the “abhorrent” allegedly antisemitic comments made by a small proportion of council candidates.
Sense of unease over level of scrutiny
Two Green candidates have been arrested over remarks posted on social media. Other alleged antiemetic comments made by more candidates have been unearthed by the Labour Party.
“We are still expecting the results to be record-breaking for us and predicting we will take seats off Labour, the Lib Dems and Conservatives,” a Green source said. “But it is fair to say there is a sense of unease in the party because people aren’t used to having the full weight of the Labour Party briefing against us.”
“And in the Green Party, people struggle with sharing a platform with people with such abhorrent views [as those who have been arrested/suspended].
“There’s a bit of worry in terms of how we are responding to the accusations, but I think Zack was clear that our vetting process hasn’t been good enough, and we will invest in this to improve this process.”
The i Paper revealed last week that the Greens were planning to toughen up their candidate vetting process, with sources acknowledging the system was not fit to manage the huge surge in candidates selected for Thursday’s elections.
The current system relies on local parties to make decisions about who they select as candidates with minimal input from the central party, which has resulted in no real background checks, it is understood.
But off the back of the antisemitism allegations this will be toughened up.
A second Green source said: “We have had local parties contacting us and raising concerns about how they can make sure this never happens again. So after these elections I imagine we will set out a standard practice we would ask them all to agree to.”
Greens are ‘an anti-racist party’
Polanski – when confronted with a series of comments made by candidates – told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the remarks were “all unacceptable” and the Green Party was “an anti-racist party and it’s important that we stick to our values”.
He said there would be a “standardised vetting process” in future, with compulsory training for candidates, “to make it clear that antisemitism is completely unwelcome in the Green Party, as it is in society”.
Polanski himself has come under heightened scrutiny as his party increases in prominence.
On Wednesday he was forced to admit he wrongly described himself as a former spokesperson for the British Red Cross.
While campaigning for the party’s deputy leadership in 2022 he referenced the former job but later clarified he was not an official spokesperson.
“I used the wrong word, and I accept that, but I would essentially take words on stage with me and speak. It’s important, though, and I accept this, that they don’t support any political party, and I’ve made sure that’s been taken down,” he said.
Polanski under fire over police criticism
The Green Party leader last week also faced widespread condemnation for his response to footage of the alleged Golders Green terrorist who was tackled to the ground and kicked by police officers attempting to arrest him.
He reposted criticism of the footage on social media before then apologising for sharing the post in haste, having been rebuked by Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley.
But Polanski – an elected member of the London Assembly which oversees the Met – doubled down on his view that police operations should be scrutinised, telling the Today programme on Wednesday he was “traumatised” by the footage.
It is understood Green Party insiders were divided over Polanski’s decision to criticise officers in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
And since the row, public opinion of the party leader has taken a downward turn.
YouGov analysis suggests 39 per cent of Brits had an unfavourable view of Polanski immediately before his social media repost, rising to 47 per cent in YouGov’s latest poll of 2,377 adults between 4 and 5 May.
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