Where does gay Green Party leader Zack Polanski stand on trans rights?

We won’t beat around the bush: new Green Party leader Zack Polanski has proven himself to be a supporter of trans rights.

On Tuesday (2 September), it was announced that Polanski would lead the party after defeating Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns by 20,411 votes to 3,705.

The UK Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the legal definitions of “women” and “sex” appeared to drive a wedge between the two former co-leaders of the Green Party: Adrian Ramsay and Carla Denyer.

Ramsay came under fire for avoiding a firm answer when asked whether he believed trans women are women, after the court’s decision that the legal definition of women refers to “biological women” only, and that “sex” refers to “biological sex”. He added that members of his party who hold anti-trans views shouldn’t be expelled and have “the right to express that view”. 

However, Denyer has expressed views different from Ramsay, choosing to stand in solidarity with the trans community, while the new leader, Zack Polanski, has also spoken up for trans rights.

In an Instagram post, posted at the end of April and captioned “trans rights are human rights”, Polanski reshared a post he had made in response to the Supreme Court ruling. 

He wrote: “Deep irony that they call this ‘practical’ implications when it’s anything but. A consequence of the awful reporting around the Supreme Court often missing fundamental facts from the ruling. This is just more thinly veiled transphobia. The mask is off.” 

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A post shared by Zack Polanski (@greenpartyzack)

Polanski, who is vegan and lives in Hackney, East London, said following his victory: “We need bold action, bold leadership. It’s time the super-rich paid their share. It’s time to tax extreme wealth and redistribute it to those struggling to live, to breathe, to survive.” 

Asked if he acknowledged wholeheartedly that fighting for LGBTIQA+ liberation goes hand in hand with fighting the climate crisis, he pledged: “Yes. Our LGBTIQA+ siblings often face even deeper inequalities from the climate crisis. Both through fighting fossil fuel barons or anti-lgbtiqa+ hate, it’s the same systems of violence and exploitation that we must oppose.” 

The 42-year-old later pledged support for improving trans healthcare: “We know Wes Streeting is determined to remove needed protections and access to healthcare. We must make sure that we are always working to improve our policy and the ways in which we communicate it – to push back at this increasingly regressive labour government.” 

Polanski pledged ‘unconditional’ support for ‘our trans siblings’

Polanski said of the UK Supreme Court ruling: “We must stand resolute, determined in this moment and support our trans siblings unconditionally – there is light but we’re going to have to fight for it by turning up and refusing to be silent.” 

The self-proclaimed “eco-populist” also pledged to fight for a reform of the Gender Recognition Act and campaign to bring forward a ban on conversion therapy, which he described as “horrific and barbaric. “It has no place in a civilised society,” he added. 

Unsurprisingly, he scored a top of 10 marks for his answers to his pledges as leader of the Green Party. 

Zack Polanski, who launched his leadership bid in The Guardian in May, centred his bid on improving on the disappointment caused by both the Labour and Conservative governments. 

He said: “People are done with the two old parties and we’re in this dangerous moment where Nigel Farage is absolutely ready to fill that vacuum…There’s an empty space in politics, where we’re not being as bold as we can be.”

Nigel Farage’s right-wing party Reform UK won another parliamentary seat in the May 2 local elections, despite (or more likely, because of) their extreme anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-migration policies.

‘Inequality is at the heart of all of our problems’

Polanski didn’t directly critique the approach taken by the Greens, but he did note what he would offer if given the chance to lead the party: “We’re not visible enough. I don’t want to see our membership grow incrementally. I want to see us be a mass movement. There’s something here around eco-populism: still being absolutely based in evidence, science and data – and never losing that – but telling a really powerful story.”

Alongside his bid in The Guardian, Polanski has launched a campaign website and a video, in which he states, “people are looking for somewhere to turn.”

“It’s time to rise up,” he says, adding that the public need, “a party that knows: inequality is at the heart of all of our problems.” 

Who is Zack Polanski’s partner? 

According to Polanski’s Facebook profile he has been in a relationship with his boyfriend Richie Bryan since 2019. 

Bryan’s profile shows that he is a physiotherapist at St Josephs Hospice. However, a Green Party press release notes that he works in palliative care. 

Polanski has posted frequently on social media about his boyfriend, and in 2021 shared a post praising him as “wonderful” for joining him to encourage people to vote following his shift at hospital. 

My wonderful boyfriend come straight from his shift at hospital to join us in these final hours encouraging people to vote.

This election is different. It's Proportional & every single vote counts.

You have until 10pm to vote Green 3 times & help elect @sianberry as Mayor! 💚💚 pic.twitter.com/YZJJKvZoPN

— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) May 6, 2021

In April, the couple shared an image of themselves in Preston as they railed to get Greens elected.

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