Zack Polanski urges Brits to 'vote Green' in order to drag Labour even further Left on rent controls, wealth taxes, banning North Sea oil and Gaza

Zack Polanski today urged Brits to vote for his Green Party in order to drag Labour further to the Left on rent controls, wealth taxes, fossil fuels and Gaza.In his keynote speech to the Greens' conference in Brighton, the self-described 'eco-populist' claimed backing his party was the 'most powerful vote you can make'.'Vote Green and watch Labour move', Mr Polanski said, as he attempts to stem a flood of Left-wing voters switching back to Labour under new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.The 43-year-old, who reckons he has a '50-50' shot at beating Labour at next week's Holborn and St Pancras by-election, hailed the impact the Greens had already had on the Government amid their poll surge earlier this year.'At general elections, the government changes. But between general elections – we change the government,' Mr Polanski said, in the wake of panicking Labour MPs' ditching of Keir Starmer in favour of Mr Burnham.Just days after Mr Burnham delivered what was dubbed the most Left-wing speech by a PM since the 1970s, Mr Polanski unveiled Green proposals for a 'three-year emergency brake' on private rents.This would see increases for tenants limited by a triple lock-style guarantee.Mr Polanski also called for his party to keep up the pressure on Labour to retain its ban on new North Sea oil and gas drilling, while also taking a stronger position on Israel and 'deproscribing' Palestine Action.And he vowed the Greens would 'introduce a windfall tax to obscene bank profits', as he insisted his party would not 'hesitate in taxing extreme wealth'.Zack Polanski today urged Brits to vote for his Green Party in order to drag Labour further to the Left on rent controls, wealth taxes, fossil fuels and Gaza In his keynote speech to the Greens' conference in Brighton, the self-described 'eco-populist' claimed backing his party was the 'most powerful vote you can make'After he was elected party leader in September last year, the Greens enjoyed a surge in support and membership numbers under Mr Polanski.But the party has since seen its poll ratings almost halve since a peak in March, which has coincided with a series of rows and Labour's lurch to the Left under Mr Burnham. Mr Polanski earlier insisted he won't be forced to quit as Green leader if he fails to win the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.He said his position at the head of the Left-wing party would not depend on him being elected as an MP in the north London seat.He described the contest as being 'on a knife edge' and 'probably 50/50 right now' as he seeks to take the constituency from Labour.But, in a sign of the Greens' struggle in what was Sir Keir's seat, activists were being encouraged to ditch the party's conference in Brighton this weekend to go and join the by-election campaign.A banner adorning one empty conference stall told party members: 'Stop Reading This. Go campaign in Holborn & St Pancras to elect our 6th Green MP.'It follows reports that Mr Polanski failed with an attempt to postpone the South Coast gathering entirely in order to focus the party's efforts on his bid to join the House of Commons.Mr Polanski has gambled on standing in Holborn and St Pancras despite the Greens' plummeting opinion poll ratings and his growing unpopularity with voters.He is widely expected to lose to Labour in the contest, which was sparked by Sir Keir quitting Parliament following his ousting as prime minister.The start of the Greens' conference in Brighton this weekend has been accompanied by rumours of a potential leadership challenge from one of Mr Polanski's deputies.Mothin Ali, a Leeds City councillor, is reported to be 'gearing up' to run in the next Green leadership election due next year.There was also a dispute over whether TV channels could air Mr Polanski's keynote speech live on Friday afternoon, due to strict by-election rules.Meanwhile, the Brighton gathering is set to be dominated by a furious row over a planned debate by Green members on a motion to declare Zionism as a form of racism. Zack Polanski is facing a fight for survival in only his second Green Party conference speech as leader amid the party's plummeting opinion poll ratings A banner adorning one empty conference stall told party members: 'Stop Reading This. Go campaign in Holborn & St Pancras to elect our 6th Green MP.' Caroline Lucas, the former Green leader, has branded the motion 'divisive' and warned it 'could be seen as a sign that Jewish people aren't welcome in the party'. Speaking to The Guardian ahead of his keynote conference speech on Friday, Mr Polanski denied his leadership could come under threat if he failed in Holborn and St Pancras.'It doesn't depend on it whatsoever,' he told the newspaper, adding that the by-election had ramifications for politics nationally but 'not for my leadership'.'I'll be completely honest, it won't surprise you to know that I want to win the seat,' Polanski said.'I think the seat is winnable, and I think it's probably 50-50 right now. It's really, really on a knife edge.'Speaking at her party's own conference in Liverpool this week, Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell said she is 'confident' of winning the Holborn and St Pancras contest.She claimed many Labour voters who left the party for the Greens during Sir Keir's premiership were giving the party 'a second look' now Mr Burnham is in power.A defeat for Mr Polanski in next Thursday's by-election would represent a huge blow to his leadership.Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, said Mr Polanski's first year as Green leader had 'brought many more voters off the fence, but most have broken against him'.'This big negative shift has coincided with Labour installing a more popular leader and with a large positive shift in Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch's ratings,' he wrote in an article for Sky News.'Polanski and the Greens need to decide how to respond to Labour's moves to close down space on the Left.'He added: 'Regardless of which way they turn, the Greens may also need to ask themselves whether Polanski remains a political asset after a turbulent first year as leader, which has seen his poll ratings fade fast.'Though Labour gains from the Greens are much more evident since Andy Burnham became PM, Green polling had started to decline even before his arrival.' Mr Polanski is reported to have failed with an attempt to postpone the Brighton gathering entirely in order to focus the party's efforts on his bid to join the House of CommonsGreen Party members are being issued with an 'inclusion card' at the party's conference in order to challenge 'name-calling, abuse or bullying'However, Rachel Millward - another Green deputy leader - claimed her party and Mr Polanski had 'set the political agenda' in the past 12 months. She told Times Radio: 'The reality is that it's Zack Polanski who brought the nation Andy Burnham.'And if we hadn't had the success of the Green Party in this last year since Zack's been leading, which has been unprecedented, phenomenal success...'...If we hadn't had that much pressure on Labour, then we'd probably still be in the Starmer regime, which was pretty much ushering in a Reform government with its lurch to the Right.'So actually, what we're seeing now is that we've set the political agenda and the Government is picking that up.'Read more: Polanski said his family 'fled the Nazis'. But all four of his grandparents were born in Britain - long before the war