Green Party 'confident' of local election push
BBCThe leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, Zack Polanski, has said he is feeling "confident but not complacent" about boosting his party's presence in councils across the north-west of England.
He was speaking on the campaign trail in Manchester earlier with Hannah Spencer MP, who saw off Labour and Reform to win the Gorton and Denton by-election earlier this year.
Polanski said her success showed there were no longer any "no go" areas for his party, which was focused on "stopping Reform in their tracks and replacing the Labour government".
Party members told the BBC they were optimistic about having more representation across the North West after the local elections on 7 May.
Polanski's party has no control of any councils in the North West at the moment, with pockets of support spread across the region.
Despite their success in the by-election, the Green Party is represented on only four of Greater Manchester's ten councils.
It has the most support in Trafford, with five elected members, while four green councillors sit on Manchester City Council, and three on Stockport Council, all of which are holding elections next month.
He said he was "confident we can win with a whole suite of councillors right across Greater Manchester, in places where you wouldn't necessarily have expected to see Green councillors in the past".
Polanski told BBC Radio Manchester: "People are sick of Labour empty promises and broken pledges, and recognise the divisive politics of Reform doesn't have a home in Manchester.
"I'm a Mancunian myself, and I know that we show that kind of politics the door."
He was speaking to local businesses on Stockport Road in Levenshulme earlier alongside Spencer to talk up the party's new policies to revitalise the high street.
These include offering small businesses affordable leases, encouraging use of empty units by arts and cultural organisations, and increasing local involvement in decision-making over the high street.
Polanski said the policies were aimed at helping small businesses thrive rather than "continuing to allow multinational corporations to dominate our high street".
On Merseyside, the Green Party currently has 14 representatives on Wirral Council, eight on Knowsley Council and five in St Helens.
Elections are being held next month on the latter two authorities where the Greens are the second largest party after Labour.
It also has pockets of representation in Sefton and Liverpool City Council.
When challenged on what local policies his party could offer away from wider plans to tax high wealth individuals, he said a "real issue" was local government funding.
He said increasing those taxes could help better fund councils and pointed to his newly-unveiled measure to back small businesses.
Elections are being held in Burnley where the party has five councillors, while elsewhere in Lancashire the party has some support in Lancashire County, Ribble Valley, and Hyndburn councils.
Polanski said he was feeling confident given the boost in party membership and recent poll ratings.
"In two weeks, I am expecting lots of people to go to the ballot box and vote green for the first time, and that's incredibly exciting."
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