Green party leader Zack Polanski says Newham 'is not Labour's area'

The Green party is “confident but not complacent” about achieving good results at Newham’s local election next month, leader Zack Polanski has said.

Polanski told Green activists that the Labour party should not feel “entitled” to votes in the borough, after a day of campaigning on Saturday (11 April). He said: “Newham is not Labour’s area. Labour are not entitled to votes in Newham. The Green party is ready to turn Newham Green.”

Elections for all 61 seats at Newham Council, as well as for the borough’s mayor, are set to take place on Thursday 7 May.

Labour has controlled the council almost continuously since the local authority was formed in 1965. It currently dominates the council with 56 Labour councillors.
However, the Greens and the Newham Independents Party both hope to make significant gains.

Newham Independents beat Labour at by-elections for Boleyn and Plaistow North wards in 2023 and for Plaistow South in 2025.

Yet Polanski insists next month’s contest in Newham “is between the Labour party and the Green party”. He said he thought the Greens could challenge Labour through a combination of local and national issues.

Polanski said that if Green candidate Areeq Choudhury is elected as Newham’s mayor it would send a “clear signal” to Labour nationally, adding that “Keir Starmer is already on the ropes”.

But he added: “Journalists keep asking: is this election a referendum on Keir Starmer? Your elections in Newham are about Newham.

“It’s not just about Keir Starmer, it’s about the people of Newham.”

The Green party leader told local members that how well the party performs in Newham depends on how much campaigning they are “willing to put in in the next 26 days”.

He said: “We’re confident but we’re not complacent.”

The Greens, Labour, Newham Independents and the Conservatives are each standing 61 council candidates in Newham.

Reform UK is standing 37 candidates, the Liberal Democrats 23 and the Christian Peoples Alliance (CPA) 18.

There are two candidates from the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition standing for election in Beckton, one from the Workers Party UK in East Ham, and one from Communities United in Plaistow North. There are also 17 independents.

Other candidates for Newham mayor are Labour’s Forhad Hussain, Conservative Terri Bloore, Newham Independents' leader Mehmood Mirza, Liberal Democrat Laura Willoughby, CPA’s Bharath Swamy, Reform UK’s Clive Furness and Kamran Malik of Communities United.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service is aiming to interview all mayoral candidates ahead of the election.