On Laura Kuenssberg’s show, Green Party leader Zack Polanski cut through the tired mainstream media obsession with playing into personality politics. Likely referring to repeated instances of career politicians advancing their own interests at the expense of their constituents, Polanski emphasises the importance of “grown-up politics,” where the focus is on the substance of policy as opposed to MP’s just trying to be difficult.
Polanski continues to reveal the ineffectiveness and immaturity of UK career politicians, with support from media outlets that are, predictably, in their pocket.
.@ZackPolanski is asked about who he might work with in the future & he explains its not about any individual politician but the policy platform they were offering (he mentions a few demands he’d be making – a wealth tax, action on the climate crisis, & electoral reform) pic.twitter.com/x1LexLSRUJ
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) February 1, 2026
Polanski: It’s time to be practical and deliver
During the Kuenssberg interview on the BBC, Polanski challenged the presenter’s desperate and thinly veiled efforts to depict the Green leader as incompetent simply due to the radical ideas in his policy platform. Polanski, already untroubled by questions about air travel for diplomatic missions, demonstrated once again his ability to out-maneuver the establishments preferred journalist.
Zack stated:
It depends, again, what they’re putting forward as a policy platform. I think we need to take the personality politics out of it and actually say, what are the practical steps to get things done?
If I was working with another politician, I’d want some obvious demands, a wealth tax and multimillionaires and billionaires, proper action on the climate crisis and indeed proportional representation so people’s votes actually counted.
Here, Polanski underscores a recurring oversight in UK politics. The priority should be the substance of policies and the principles they embody, rather than the individuals pushing them. As opposed to the familiar ego-driven self-interest of politicians promoting or obstructing policies for lucrative backhanders and future job prospects.
Your Party’s Emma Jayne Park in Glasgow alongside comrades across the country has also vowed to take on personality politics, calling for its end, as we quoted in November:
I want to see socialist values clearly written into policy, which means ensuring that power is held within our grassroots communities – empowering local members to make decisions that affect their lives, prioritising their needs and voices in the party over top-down leadership models and personality politics.
According to this X account, leading media personalities like Kuenssberg have a vested interest in maintaining the ongoing practice of framing UK politics as a battle between individuals rather than ideas:
An excellent answer and one that evidently frustrated Laura Kuenssberg, for whom politics is all about personalities (preferably “big” personalities with whom she can develop unhealthily cosy relationships – e.g. Boris Johnson).#BBCLauraK https://t.co/tWN61XK0k9
— Tom Scott
(@Tom___Scott) February 1, 2026
Pedestal ideas, not politicians
Once again Polanski breaks through to the crux of the issue as attempts are made to drag him into the gutter with petty politics. In his interview, the inspiring and energising Green leader exposed the elephant in the room that political ideas are what matters – not the highly paid people pushing them. Instead of incorporating classroom politics into our democracy, he reminds us that what ultimately matters is the policy being considered.
Unlike the career politicians of Starmer’s right-wing Labour Party, Polanski instead chooses to challenge the system, putting principle and policy ahead of popularity and personal ambition. After all, the ‘principles’ of UK politics have long served the interests of a small elite, while the majority continue to struggle.
A futile trend that apparently won’t continue with the Green’s and Your Party, if elected into power.
Featured image via the Canary
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