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\n Photo by Finnbarr Webster\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\n Photo by Finnbarr Webster\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Before his election as Green Party leader in September 2025 \u2013 and for a short time afterwards \u2013 Zack Polanski would arrive at interviews alone, without the entourage of advisers typically trailing high-profile politicians between engagements. A year on, with the Greens surging in the polls, the party has begun to professionalise.<\/p>\n
As Polanski\u2019s team of personal advisers has grown, so too has the network shaping and influencing the Green Party\u2019s eco-populist leader. From party lifers to former Corbynites to an acting coach, the New Statesman takes a look at Polanski\u2019s operation and its key figures.<\/p>\n
The two Georgias<\/p>\n
At the heart of Polanski\u2019s team are his two advisers \u2013 Georgia Nelson and Georgia Elander \u2013 known internally as \u201cthe two Georgias\u201d. Nelson, Polanski\u2019s leadership office manager, has been involved with the Greens since her student days in 2019 and previously worked for Carla Denyer on her 2024 election campaign before joining the leader\u2019s office. Elander, Polanski\u2019s special communications adviser, also worked for Denyer as a media officer before moving into Polanski\u2019s team; their first experience in comms came as a volunteer in the Green Party press office in 2015.<\/p>\n
On the campaign<\/p>\n
During both his deputy leadership bid in 2022 and his successful leadership campaign last year, Polanski was supported by Naranee Ruthra-Rajan, a Green Party candidate for Hammersmith and Fulham Council. A party member since 2009<\/a>, she stood unsuccessfully as a prospective parliamentary candidate in 2024 and previously co-chaired her local party alongside Polanski in 2019.<\/p>\n Subscribe to the New Statesman today and save 75% <\/p>\n Polanski\u2019s previous life as an actor in Manchester is well known, and theatre continues to shape his leadership style. A key influence on his speechcraft is Aileen Gonsalves, a former director at the Royal Shakespeare Company and creator of the eponymous \u201cGonsalves method<\/a>\u201d, of which Polanski is a former student<\/a>. The technique aims to enhance \u201ccharisma, effectiveness and influence\u201d.<\/p>\n Gonsalves developed the method while directing Judi Dench, Simon Russell Beale and Vanessa Redgrave at the RSC<\/a> (she has said Dench \u201cdoes this authentic present connection instinctively\u201d). It emphasises \u201cbeing in the moment\u201d and \u201cactive listening\u201d, and is taught through \u201cGonsalves Cards\u201d, each presenting a different exercise \u2013 from improvised workplace encounters to awkward chance meetings. Under her tutelage, Polanski has used the method to sharpen the authenticity of his communication and delivery.<\/p>\n The vanguard<\/p>\n Greens Organise was instrumental in Polanski\u2019s election (often compared \u2013 not always favourably for its members \u2013 to Momentum under Jeremy Corbyn\u2019s Labour leadership). Founded by 150 members at the party\u2019s conference in September 2024, it is an internal pressure group seeking to shift the Greens leftwards.<\/p>\n The group began with an open letter urging the party to \u201crealise its responsibility and potential\u201d as \u201cthe electoral voice of a popular movement\u201d. Early supporters included former leader Sian Berry and Hackney mayoral candidate Zo\u00eb Garbett. Since then, Greens Organise has pushed for an \u201cinternationalist, anti-capitalist and ecologically transformative agenda\u201d, backing motions such as \u201cAbolish Landlords<\/a>\u201d at the 2025 autumn conference.<\/p>\n More recently, it coordinated an anti-austerity pledge for local government, signed by over 200 Green councillors and candidates, and now backed by Polanski. One co-founder, Steve Jackson, helped run the party\u2019s campaign in the Gorton and Denton by-election and worked on Polanski\u2019s 2025 leadership bid. He now works in Hannah Spencer\u2019s office following her election in February.<\/p>\n Another prominent figure is Matt Zarb-Cousin, a former spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn, who publicly backed Polanski and defended Greens Organise against claims of a \u201chostile takeover\u201d. While not formally part of Polanski\u2019s inner circle, he has consistently argued for the party to adopt more explicitly socialist positions, criticising its failure to capitalise on the 2024 election.<\/p>\n The press team<\/p>\n As part of a broader push to professionalise amid rising membership and improved polling, the Greens\u2019 press operation has expanded. Anjula Singh, formerly communications director for Jeremy Corbyn and a BBC journalist, now works on press and communications. More recent hires include Abi Wilkinson, a journalist and commentator who until February 2026 worked for Your Party co-founder Zarah Sultana. Prior to that role, Wilkinson had publicly endorsed Polanski and joined the Greens.<\/p>\n The ideas<\/p>\n In March, James Meadway \u2013 a former adviser to John McDonnell \u2013 launched the think tank Verdant<\/a> alongside campaigner Deborah Doane. Meadway, a former Treasury official and chief economist at the New Economics Foundation, played a key role in shaping Labour\u2019s 2017 economic programme. Parallels have already been drawn between that platform and Polanski\u2019s emerging economic agenda.<\/p>\n Verdant\u2019s launch drew a wide range of Green figures, including Denyer, Spencer, Ellie Chowns and Caroline Lucas, as well as Labour MP Clive Lewis. While not formally affiliated with the party, its close links suggest it will help shape future policy.<\/p>\n Polanski\u2019s podcast, Bold Politics with Zack Polanski, launched soon after he became leader, has also become a vehicle for influence as much as profile-building. Guests have included economist Gary Stephenson, journalists Grace Blakeley and Owen Jones, immigration expert Zoe Gardner and former Labour candidate Fazia Shaheen \u2013 all figures informally close to Polanski.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, the progressive think tank Common Wealth, founded by Mathew Lawrence, has contributed to policy development. Ideas such as how the UK might decouple electricity and gas prices \u2013 outlined in Polanski\u2019s March speech at the New Economics Foundation<\/a> \u2013 originated there. Khem Rogaly, a principal research fellow, has also advised on Nato<\/a> and defence policy.<\/p>\n These are Polanski\u2019s people. As the Greens look ahead to the 7 May elections, the prospect of significant gains is coming into view. The durability of that surge will depend on the strength of Polanski\u2019s operation, and on how effectively its politics and communication can be sustained.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/dl6pgk4f88hky.cloudfront.net\/2021\/09\/TNS_master_logo.svg\"){kind=logo}
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