Wales nothing more than ‘stepping stone’ to Downing Street for Farage, Polanski warns

Emily Price 

Wales is nothing more than a “stepping stone” to Downing Street for Nigel Farage and Caerphilly should be “very proud” they sent him packing, the new leader of the Green Party has said.

Zack Polanski made the comments in an interview with Nation.Cymru ahead of the Greens conference in Cardiff on Saturday (November 8).

The party has recently reached more than 100,000 members for the first time since the London Assembly member took over as leader in September.

The booming membership and the party’s highest ever polling has been attributed to Polanski’s spicy media responses and his ability to deliver sharp left-wing messaging at a time when Reform UK is dominating political conversation.

The Green Party’s autumn conference will celebrate almost tripling its membership in two months and lay out plans for a Senedd breakthrough in 2026.

The Senedd is the only parliament in the UK where the left-wing eco party has never been represented.

However, recent polling has predicted that Welsh Green Party leader, Anthony Slaughter, will win the new Caerdydd Penarth seat and gain a spot in the Senedd for the Greens for the first time.

Confident

We asked Zack Polanski how confident he was that the Greens can finally win at least one seat in Wales’ Parliament.

He said: “When journalists talk to our Welsh leader Anthony Slaughter, they’re no longer asking whether we’ll win, they’re asking where we’ll win.

“Our team has been working flat out for months, we won a hotly contested council by-election in the part of Cardiff where we’re aiming to get him elected, and since then our membership has surged.

“That means we’re now working to get Tessa Marshall, our second list candidate in that seat, elected too.

“When people have seen what we’re offering on the ground, they’re grabbed it with both hands, so I’m confident we’ll make this breakthrough.”

Consequential

The 2026 Senedd election is expected to be the most consequential Senedd election since 1999.

Voting intention polling has predicted that Reform UK are almost level with Plaid Cymru whilst Labour has seen its vote share fall dramatically and the Welsh Conservatives are facing the possibility of a complete wipeout.

However, a fully proportional new voting system is expected to prevent Farage’s party forming the next Welsh Government.

Nation.Cymru asked the Green Party leader what he would say to Welsh voters looking to vote for Reform UK.

Zack Polanski said: “For Farage, Wales is nothing more than a stepping stone on a path to Downing Street.

“Reform hasn’t said who would be First Minister if they win, and they’re terrified of announcing candidates in case they say something wild.

“If you’re fed up with a political system that’s failed you, you have the chance to vote for Green candidates who are rooted in their community, who will fight every day to cut your bills and rebuild our public services.

“Unlike Reform, we don’t work for billionaires, we’re the ones that want to make them pay their fair share.”

‘Fairer’

We also asked Polanski what he would say to voters looking to vote for Wales’ nationalist party Plaid Cymru.

He said: “It looks like Wales is getting a new government in May. So the question people need to ask themselves is what kind of government do we want that to be?

“The new, fairer voting system means no party can win a majority, so instead of worrying about Reform running Wales (they won’t be), we can think about who the next government will stand up for.

“Voting Green means you’re electing representatives who are absolutely clear about who, and who we will prioritise – making life easier for ordinary people.

“And those elected Greens will mostly be taking seats from Reform.

“We’re pushing for rent controls, something Wales could have done years ago. We want to bring water into public ownership, so we can cut bills stop the sewage in our rivers.

“I understand Welsh Greens are looking at how they can replace the ridiculously unfair council tax.

“Just one or two Greens will be enough to hold the balance of power in the Senedd.

“That means Wales can achieve so many of the things I’ve been talking about. We can actually make them happen.”

‘Sent packing’

In the recent Caerphilly by-election, which saw Plaid Cymru win the key seat from Labour for the first time, the Green’s only secured 2 per cent of the vote.

Polling had predicted that Reform’s Llyr Powell would win the contest and Nigel Farage visited the constituency several times.

However, Plaid’s messaging asking people to vote tactically to block Nigel Farage’s party from gaining a second seat in Senedd was successful.

Nation.Cymru asked the leader of the Greens in England and Wales if he was disappointed in the Caerphilly by-election result.

Zack Polanski said: “Caerphilly should feel very proud that it sent Reform packing.

“Clearly people got behind the party they thought most likely to beat Farage, but we also met many people who said they’re voting Green in May.

“In fact, I’ll be announcing some very exciting news about Caerphilly during my speech in Cardiff tomorrow.

“But if you look at this summer’s council by-election in Cardiff, everyone thought Plaid was going to win it – but we did.

“So that shows when we kick into gear, we can take on all the other parties.”