Zack Polanski, the eco activist and one time thespian, is casting himself as the far left political counterweight to Nigel Farage. The leader of the Green Party proudly told the adoring crowds at the party’s conference in Bournemouth this year, “Say it loud, say it clear: refugees and migrants here.” The message is a clear contrast to Reform’s “detain and deport”.

Under his leadership, Polanski has pushed party membership beyond one hundred and fifty thousand, a huge increase since his election as leader and the highest in the party’s history. According to a mid October poll published in the Independent, the Greens are also now polling “neck and neck” with Labour. No other political party enjoyed a post conference surge, not even Reform UK, although the latter remains the fastest growing party. The Tories remained steady at an underwhelming sixteen per cent, while Labour conceded a three point loss, likely made up of converts to the Greens.

Polanski’s entrance into politics represents the increasingly diverse routes of recent years. Growing up in Salford, he went on to Aberystwyth University and then drama school in Atlanta, Georgia. He returned to London to work as an immersive theatre actor and later as a hypnotherapist, where he famously took part in a hypnotic experiment to increase a Sun reporter’s breast size. His pre politics career is a stark contrast to Siân …