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Zack Polanski slumps to worst poll rating as Green Party leader

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Howie, M. (2026, October 18). Zack Polanski slumps to worst poll rating as Green Party leader. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/zack-polanski-polling-green-party-leader-zionism-row-b1301316.html

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Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-18 · by Michael Howie

Quick Summary

Zack Polanski's approval rating as Green Party leader has dropped to its lowest point since taking office, with 52% of respondents expressing an unfavorable view of him according to a recent Ipsos poll. The decline is attributed to criticism over the party’s controversial "Zionism is racism" policy and poor performance in a by-election. Polanski's net favorability score has fallen to minus 36, making it the lowest among all national party leaders.
Written by AI on 2026-10-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Zack Polanski's poll ratings have hit an all-time low since becoming leader of the Green Party, according to a recent Ipsos survey. The survey shows that 52% of the public now view him unfavorably, marking a six-point increase from September and making it the first time more than half of those surveyed express negative opinions about him. Polanski's overall rating has fallen to minus 36, the lowest for any national party leader in Britain. His support among younger voters and Labour Party supporters has notably decreased, with his net favorability score dropping from plus seven to minus 24 among those who voted Labour in 2024. This decline comes after criticism of the Green Party's controversial "Zionism is racism" policy adopted at their conference in Brighton.

Written for “Zack Polanski's Low Poll Ratings” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Zack Polanski's Low Poll Ratings
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 11 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different events related to the Green Party but do not refer to the same specific incident.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A discusses Labour's response to the Greens' 'Zionism is racism' stance, while Article B reports on Zack Polanski's declining poll ratings due to criticism over the same policy. They describe different aspects of related events rather than the exact same specific incident.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 13 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different events related to the Green Party's policy on Zionism, but are not reporting on the same specific incident.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 16 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different aspects of Zack Polanski's leadership, with Article A focusing on his declining poll ratings and Article B on his stance regarding a controversial policy. While related, they do not describe the same specific incident.”
The Guardian
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A reports on Zack Polanski's declining poll ratings, while Article B covers his statement on Zionism to the BBC. These are different events occurring around the same time.”
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 22 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the 'Zionism is racism' motion: one focuses on Andy Burnham's reaction, while the other covers Zack Polanski's declining poll ratings due to the same policy.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 31 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A discusses the investigation of a GP for anti-Israel posts related to the Green Party's 'Zionism is racism' motion, while Article B covers Zack Polanski's declining poll ratings due to criticism over the same policy.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
13
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
1 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8310 article(s) · 73 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 73 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Michael Howie
91 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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Also by Michael Howie
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 91 articles by Michael Howie →

Topics

Commons Green Ipsos Labour London Assembly

Subjects

Green PERSON · 4× Polanski PERSON · 4× Ipsos ORG · 3× Andy Burnham PERSON · 2× Labour NORP · 2× Commons ORG · 1× Holborn GPE · 1× London Assembly ORG · 1× St Pancras GPE · 1× Zack Polanski’s PERSON · 1×

Narrative

The Prime Minister enjoys a net favourability score of plus eight, while Kemi Badenoch’s score is minus 12 and Sir Ed Davey’s is minus 15. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s overall score is minus 31, with some 56% of people saying they have an unfavourable view of him.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
2026-10-18 · Evening Standard
Zack Polanski slumps to worst poll rating as Green Party leader · assertive framing

Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)

Zack Polanski’s poll rating has slumped to its lowest level since he become Green leader, after a “bruising” month that saw him heavily criticised over his party’s “Zionism is racism” policy. asserted
Zionism → slump → policy
A survey by Ipsos in October found 52% of the public said they had an unfavourable view of the London Assembly member, who failed in his bid to get elected to the Commons at the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. asserted
who → find → election
That is up six points since September and the first time more than half the population had expressed a negative opinion of him. asserted
population → express → him
Just 16% said they had a positive view of Mr Polanski and his overall rating has fallen to minus 36, the lowest rating of any national party leader. Much of the opposition to Mr Polanski is concentrated among older groups, the poll suggested. uncertain
poll → say → groups
But he has also lost ground among under-35s, falling from a net score of plus 16 in April to just plus two. asserted
he → lose → two
His support among people who voted Labour in 2024 has also plummeted, from a net favourability of plus seven in April to minus 24 in October. asserted
who → vote → October
He has faced both internal and external criticism of his leadership after the Green Party conference in Brighton backed a motion describing Zionism as “racism” in a vote Mr Polanski did not take part in. asserted
Polanski → face → part
The decision has seen the leader of the Jewish Greens, Vivien Lichtenstein, call for Mr Polanski to resign and say she is considering leaving the party. asserted
she → see → party
Labour has also issued an ultimatum to local Green groups it is currently in coalition with, telling them to disown the motion or lose the party’s support. asserted
it → issue → support
The Ipsos poll, conducted in the immediate wake of that by-election, found Andy Burnham remained the only senior UK politician with an overall positive favourability score. asserted
Burnham → conduct → score
The Prime Minister enjoys a net favourability score of plus eight, while Kemi Badenoch’s score is minus 12 and Sir Ed Davey’s is minus 15. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s overall score is minus 31, with some 56% of people saying they have an unfavourable view of him. asserted
they → enjoy → him
Mr Pedley added: “Andy Burnham appears to be in the ascendancy for the battle for hearts and minds on the left, with 2024 Green voters almost as positive towards him as the leader of the Green Party itself.” asserted
voters → add → Party
The Ipsos poll surveyed 2,257 British adults online between October 9 and 13. asserted
poll → survey → October
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