Zack Polanski has said his Green party is transforming the political landscape as it kicks off what is expected to be its largest-ever conference. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
The three-day annual gathering starting today in Brighton comes just days before the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, where Polanski faces an uphill battle to win the seat vacated by former prime minister Keir Starmer.
The party had considered postponing its conference while its leader campaigns for the 8 October vote, triggered by Starmer's departure from parliament last month. But it decided to press ahead with the event, which Polanski will address at 1.30pm today.
Polanski said: "This will be our biggest and most exciting Green party conference ever, coming on the back of a year of unprecedented membership growth and extraordinary electoral success.
Greens have turned hope into electoral wins – in councils, boroughs, in mayoral elections and with our exciting breakthrough in Gorton and Denton.
We have shown that Greens can win in places where Labour has traditionally taken voters for granted. And we have shown that when Greens win, the Labour government listens – whether that's finally banning trade with illegal settlements or starting to open safe routes for refugees."
Polanski added: "But our work is just beginning. Rising bills, insecure work, pressure on public services and communities that feel forgotten have left many people wondering whether politics can actually make their lives better.
The last year has shown that the Green party can transform the political landscape – now our task is to step up our wins and keep the pressure on this government to secure genuine change in people's everyday lives."
We will bring you all the top lines from Polanski's conference speech at 1.30pm so stay tuned for that.