Zack Polanski’s Green Party is preparing to fight Andy Burnham’s incoming administration from the moment he takes office, with plans to paint the new prime minister as a continuity Starmerite and challenge his key appointments, according to party insiders.
Burnham’s victory in the Makerfield by-election swallowed the Green vote, leaving them on just 0.7 per cent and costing their deposit. But for Polanski’s party, the arrival of a more left-wing government led by Burnham could prove as much an opportunity as a challenge.
“Green Party plans to challenge Andy Burnham's appointments and paint him as a continuity Starmerite.”
There are differing opinions within the party on how to proceed. The Green MPs, from a different party tradition to their leader, think the party should wait and see, allowing Burnham to get his feet under the desk before jumping to conclusions. “Let him make his own mistakes,” one source said.
But allies of Polanski and some senior officials want a more boisterous approach from the get-go. “Burnham is essentially Labour’s last card,” a source close to Polanski said. “They’re betting everything on him succeeding but we know he’s going to disappoint voters sooner or later.”
Polanski plans to challenge Burnham’s appointments, such as that of James Purnell as his chief of staff or the rumoured appointment of Josh Simons to a senior No 10 role. He will point out that while the prime minister may have changed, the Parliamentary Labour Party remains the same. “Starmer had a huge block of ex-lobbyists as MPs and now so does Burnham,” a source close to Polanski said. “Sticking a new face on Labour won’t change its makeup.”
The polls are already suggesting a dip for the Greens; from almost 20 per cent in March to 13 per cent at the end of June. Could former Labour voters who may have voted Green in protest at Starmer’s leadership be brought back by Burnham? One senior Green refuted this. “We know that once people vote Green once, they tend to stick with us,” they said, “people don’t see it as ‘lending’ us their vote.”
The party performed well at the May local elections – taking councils from Labour in London and confirming their foothold in the north-west, holding on to the wards that cover Hannah Spencer’s Gorton and Denton constituency. In response, the party is throwing all its resources at the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election. Polls suggest it will be a very difficult race for the party to win; they will have to break through in areas like Makerfield. But one insider said it is places like Makerfield – the “left-behind places” – which the party has decided to target.
Polanski – brought up in north Manchester – has already been up to the city to campaign with the party’s candidate Geraldine Coggins, and plans to go again during the race. Coggins has been a councillor on Trafford Council in Greater Manchester for the past eight years. Next week the party plans to launch its manifesto for the race.