Early and personal life
Zack Polanski was born David Paulden in Salford. He was born to a Jewish family that had moved to the UK from mainland Europe in the early twentieth century and had adopted the surname of Paulden in hopes of evading antisemitism. Aged 18,he changed his surname back to Polanski,saying it was important for him to find pride,not shame,in his identity. [6] [7]
Polanski grew up in Salford and attended Stockport Grammar School on a scholarship before leaving to go to a comprehensive college. [8] [9] He studied at Aberystwyth University before attending drama school in Georgia in the United States. He moved to London upon graduation. [10]
Polanski is gay,vegan and lives in Hackney. [11] [12] [13]
Politics
Polanski was active in the Liberal Democrats. [7] He stood as a council candidate for St Pancras and Somers Town in a 2015 by-election to Camden London Borough Council. [14] He stood in the Barnet and Camden constituency and was fifth on the London-wide list for the party in the 2016 London Assembly election. [8] In June 2016 he heckled Jeremy Corbyn at a Momentum rally due to Corbyn's stance on the EU. [15]
He left the Liberal Democrats having joined in 2016 [16] and joined the Green Party in 2017. [7] He stood as the Green candidate in the Cities of London and Westminster parliamentary constituency at the 2019 general election and finished in fourth place of six candidates,with 1.7%. [17] Prior to his election to the London Assembly,he became treasurer of the Jewish Greens. [18]
On 6 May 2021,Polanski was elected a Member of the London Assembly,having been third on the Green Party's London-wide list. [7] He also stood in the West Central constituency,where he came third, [19] and for the Churchill by-election to Westminster City Council,where he came fourth [20] on the same day. In the new Assembly,Polanski was elected to be the chair of the Environment committee and to be on the Committee for Fire,Resilience and Emergency Planning and the Economy Committee.
In December 2021,Polanski proposed a successful motion in the London Assembly backing the Climate and Ecological Emergency bill. It was a cross-party motion with Labour and Liberal Democrat support. [21] [22]
On 6 June 2022,Polanski announced his candidacy in the 2022 Green Party of England and Wales deputy leadership election. [23] The Wales Green Party gave their endorsement of his candidacy for deputy leader. [24] On 7 September 2022,he was elected Deputy Leader,succeeding Amelia Womack. [25]
Polanski linked the cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis,putting workers' rights at the heart of his platform. Polanski stated,"A higher wage economy is a green economy,and the Green party will always stand side by side with people who face economic,social and environmental struggles." [26]
In May 2024,Polanski was re-elected to the London Assembly and,in June 2024,re-elected as Chair of the London Assembly Environment Committee. [27]
In January 2025,Polanski refused to have an all-male panel in London's Environment Committee insisting on a diversity of speakers. The Conservatives walked out of the meeting calling Polanski’s actions “left wing wokery." [28]
In May 2025,Polanski announced his candidacy for the upcoming 2025 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election. [29] In his announcement,he said that the Greens needed to be able to challenge Reform UK's political narrative and to take advantage of political disillusionment with the Labour Party. [29] Later that week,Owen Jones endorsed Polanski in The Guardian. [30] Polanski has stated that,under his leadership,the party will focus on “redistributing wealth,funding public services,and calling out the genocide in Gaza." [31] Polanski repeatedly links environmental,social,racial and economic justice. [32]
In May 2025 Polanski was also elected as the Chair of London's Fire Committee. [33]
The Green Party has reportedly seen its membership rise by at least 8% since May,when Polanski launched his leadership bid,in what some have described as a “Polanski surge”. Novara Media claim that the party (which has not officially declared its latest figures) has at least 65,000 members,slightly behind its 2015 peak of 67,000. [34]
Other ventures
Prior to being a politician, Polanski worked with the theatre company DifferencEngine as an immersive theatre actor, including appearances in The Hollow Hotel, The People's Revolt (in the Tower of London) and in the Peaky Blinders immersive theatre experience. [41]
Polanski also worked as a hypnotherapist. In 2013, a newspaper reporter for The Sun requested a hypnotherapy session to increase her breast size and body image self-confidence for an article in the paper. Polanski did the session without charge and featured in the published article. Polanski said the article did not accurately reflect the situation, but, years later, apologised for his involvement. [7] [29] [42]
Polanski taught at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts and the National Centre for Circus Arts. Polanski also sang for the London International Gospel Choir. [43] [44] [45]
In June 2024, Polanski released a book with the authors of The Spirit Level – Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson – called Act Now: A vision for a better future and a new social contract. [46] [47]
