Zack Polanski speaks with supporters during the Holborn and St Pancras by-election campaign.Zack Polanski’s popularity has slumped to an all-time low amid the row over his party’s “Zionism is racism” policy.
For the first time, more than half the public (52%) now have an unfavourable view of the Green Party leader, according to an Ipsos poll.
That is up six points since September, which was before the Greens were accused of “racism” after delegates at the party’s annual conference passed the anti-Zionism motion.
Just 16% of voters said they had a positive view of Polanski, giving him an overall approval rating of minus 36, the lowest of any national party leader.
Although much of the opposition to Polanski is concentrated among older groups, the poll suggested, he has also lost ground among under-35s, falling from a net score of plus 16 in April to plus 2 now.
Keiran Pedley, UK director of politics at Ipsos, said the public had noticed that it had been a “bruising month” for Mr Polanski.
He has faced both internal and external criticism of his leadership over his handling of the Zionism row.
Polanski himself skipped the Green conference vote so he could campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, which he lost to Labour.
The leader of the Jewish Greens, Vivien Lichtenstein, call for Polanski to resign and say she is considering leaving the party.
Prime minister Andy Burnham this week described the Green policy as “anti-semitic” and said Labour would not do any post-election deals with the party unless it was dropped.
The Ipsos poll found that Burnham remained the only senior UK politician with an overall positive favourability score.
The PM is on plus 8, 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 56% of people saying they have an unfavourable view of him.
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.”
The Ipsos poll surveyed 2,257 British adults online between October 9 and 13.
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