Brief
Green leader Zack Polanski hits record low in Ipsos poll after Zionism controversy
An Ipsos survey in October found 52% of the public hold an unfavourable view of Polanski, the lowest rating for any national party leader.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, fell to a minus‑36 favourability rating in an Ipsos poll conducted between 9 and 13 October, the lowest score ever recorded for a UK national party leader.
The online survey of 2,257 British adults found 52% of respondents held an unfavourable view of Polanski, up six points from September and marking the first time a majority expressed a negative opinion. Only 16% viewed him positively.
Support among older voters drove the unfavourable rating, while Polanski also lost ground with under‑35s, slipping from a net plus 16 in April to plus 2. Among 2024 Labour voters, his net favourability dropped from plus 7 in April to minus 24 in October.
Keiran Pedley, UK director of politics at Ipsos, said the month had been “bruising” for Polanski. The poll was taken after the Green Party conference in Brighton approved a motion describing Zionism as “racism,” a vote Polanski missed, and after his defeat in the Holborn and St Pancras by‑election, where he finished second with 8,928 votes (33%) behind Labour’s Sagal Abdi‑Wali (45%).
The Ipsos poll also showed Andy Burnham as the only senior UK politician with a positive overall favourability score, at plus 8, while Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Kemi Badenoch and Sir Ed Davey posted lower scores.
Key facts
- Ipsos poll in October gave Zack Polanski a minus‑36 favourability rating, the lowest for any national party leader (independent.co.uk)
- 52% of respondents held an unfavourable view of Polanski, up six points from September (independent.co.uk)
- Polanski received 8,928 votes (33%) in the Holborn and St Pancras by‑election, finishing second to Labour's Sagal Abdi‑Wali (independent.co.uk)
- The Green Party conference in Brighton passed a motion describing Zionism as "racism" (independent.co.uk)
- Andy Burnham was the only senior UK politician with a positive overall favourability score (plus 8) in the same poll (independent.co.uk)
Sources
- [1] independent.co.uk — originally reported as “Polanski’s polling hits new low amid ‘Zionism is racism’ row”
