Zack Polanski, Deputy Leader of the Green Party and member of the London Assembly, made a stop in Bradford to join local campaigners from his part and to get a stunning tour of scenic Yorkshire.
He joined Ros Brown and local campaigners in Ilkley, where the Greens finished less than 100 votes off the Conservative candidate in last year’s elections.
He later travelled to Heaton, another closely contested ward where Khalid Mahmood finished just behind Labour in the lost elections.
Asian Standard caught up with the optimistic leader, who shared his excitement of being in the district and confidence that his party will sweep a gain of around 100 seats in the upcoming local elections.
Zack said: “It has been great to visit Bradford District today to see the amazing work local campaigners are doing right across the District.
“Last year the Greens doubled the number of councillors in Bradford District from three to six and this year the party is hoping for more big gains here.”
He believes the success of the Green Party in recent times in places like Bradford has ‘simply been down to hard work’ He said: “Residents have seen when they have got Greens elected how they stand up for them and work hard to represent them.”
Zack also believes it’s about councillors who are ’embedded in the communities’ and went on to say: “If you look at the future councillors coming up, we have Ursula who owns the plant shop, and we have Ros who is a headteacher. So, these are people who know their communities, and no one knows their communities better than those who live in the community.
“A vote for a Green Party candidate is a vote for the local community.
Whether it’s speaking up for green space or pushing for action to make transport more affordable and accessible, having a Green in your community is someone who will be a vital person speaking out on behalf of residents.”
Councillor Matt Edwards, (Tong Ward) leader of the Green Party group on Bradford Council said, “We are the opposition to the big two parties here in Bradford.
“We are the only party challenging both Labour on how they run our Council and the Conservatives nationally for their mismanagement of our economy and public services.
“We have Councillors right across the District from Craven in the very North to Tong in the South and this year we are hoping to elect even more. Green councillors have a reputation for being hard working councillors and campaigners and it’s a record I am very proud of.
“As councillors we will continue to push for action to clean up our local environment, tackle fly tipping and rubbish issues and demand more support for community groups. We will also continue to hold our Labour-run council – especially on their failures to improve Children’s Services.”
Zack concluded in his message that: “People are looking for fresh new voices and I think the Green Party are that voice. I think they have demonstrated that already with the councillors that we have – that they do politics differently and they can model a politics of what it can be, and I am really excited to see more Greens added to that”.
