Thank you for joining us for BBC local radio's questioning of Green party leader Zack Polanski, ahead of the local elections on 7 May.

Our coverage is ending now, but for more election content, you can hop over to the live page following leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, as he is questioned across our local radio stations.

Elly Zaniewicka
Senior political reporter, BBC Westminster

It’s been a geographical and political broad sweep for Zack Polanski, with topics ranging from how the Greens would revitalise the high street and bring back buses - to housing, social care and asylum policy.

He was challenged over areas where the Greens differ from the other main parties - such as on drugs, housing and asylum issues.

On drugs policy, Polanski said the Greens want it to be treated as a health rather than a criminal issue. He was asked about MP Hannah Spencer’s recent comments that sometimes her fellow MPs smell of booze while they’re voting. Her comments were contrasted with the Green Party’s more liberal approach to drugs.

In response, Polanski said he did not want people “smoking weed in the chamber either”, pointing out it would not be considered acceptable for teachers or nurses to drink at work.

Polanski stressed his party’s priority was to support ordinary people struggling with the rising cost of living, and insisted “millionaires and billionaires” need to pay more tax.

Of course there was some mention of the environment and how the party wants to tackle air pollution and increase the use of public transport, though in practice the Green party’s local election campaign was more focused on social and economic issues - as well as the personality of their leader Zack Polanski.

BBC Radio WM

In response to a possible end being "within sight" to Birmingham's long-running bin strike, Zack Polanski told Ed James on BBC Radio WM that he was keen to see the details of the proposal.

But he questioned the timing of Birmingham City Council Labour leader John Cotton's announcement on Monday that the authority and Unite had agreed a deal to be put to union members for a vote.

Polanksi said: "How cynical of this Labour council, they should have done this 10 months ago and do they really expect people to believe 10 days before a local election, they’ve just finally managed to make a deal?"

He added: "Councillors across Birmingham will support a fair deal. But we don’t want election gimmicks, and we don’t want people playing politics with people’s lives."

He said the solution lay in paying employees fairly for their time and treating them with "dignity", claiming Labour had treated bin workers with contempt and failed to negotiate.

"That’s not the way to treat workers who run your city," he said.

The council's Labour leader John Cotton has said the potential deal is "good for the workforce" and claims it represents good value for money.

Matt Cole
Senior political reporter, BBC Westminster

The Green Party leader has a consistent message across these interviews that “millionaires and billionaires” need to pay more tax.

He has told several BBC local radio stations that BP has announced profits of £2.3bn for the first three months of this year, derived from the Iran war - but complained ordinary people would not benefit from that.

Speaking on BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey, he suggested the cost of living crisis for ordinary families could be eased by grounding business people’s private jets.

Earlier, Zack Polanski told BBC Radio London his party could do a better job of running councils, highlighting how the Greens were named council of the year for their first year of running Mid-Suffolk Council.

However, BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey questioned that competence by highlighting the failed i360 tourist project in Brighton, and said that writing off of a £51m debt had left all taxpayers paying £2m a year, which could instead have gone into social care.

Polanski said multiple administrations had been involved in that project and that it would not be helpful to “relitigate” history.

BBC Radio Merseyside

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said the party was looking to ban greyhound racing, and would then look at horse racing.

Reminded by BBC Radio Merseyside's Tony Snell that Polanski once said he wanted to ban horse races like the Grand National, he replied: "I wasn’t party leader then and right now, as party leader, I have to go with our policy which is focusing on greyhound racing.

"Once we’ve got that banned, let's talk about horse racing."

BBC Radio Surrey

On Gatwick Airport, Zack Polanski told BBC Radio Surrey that it needed to reduce the amount of flights people take, despite plans to try and expand the airport.

The airport had planned to expand by bringing its second runway into regular use, as approved by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander in September 2025 - but this is currently facing a legal challenge.

Campaigners protested outside the Royal Courts of Justice before the hearing in January, including Green MP Carla Denyer.

Polanski said: “I don’t believe the economic argument actually adds up.

“It is the fact we have a climate and nature crisis. I think it’s really important that we actually reduce the amount people fly.”

He also added that he thought people would find it “laughable” that an airport could meet its climate targets by having 54% of passengers arrive by public transport.

Elly Zaniewicka
Senior political reporter, BBC Westminster

Zack Polanski has come under pressure over some of the Green Party’s more distinctive policies… including those on asylum and immigration.

On BBC Radio Newcastle, the Green Party leader denied his party would "open up the borders", saying it’s "reasonable people want to know who’s coming into the country" …though there’s no doubt the Greens consistently take a more sympathetic approach to refugees and asylum seekers than the other main parties.

Pressed on why people in the North East - many of whom voted for Brexit in order to tackle high immigration - should support the Greens, Polanski said he understands the feeling of unfairness in communities but insisted that’s down to multi-millionaires and billionaires, not migrants and asylum seekers.

He acknowledged how much stress people are under over their housing, saying the Greens want to build much more council and social housing, an area where the party’s plans are more ambitious than rival parties.

BBC Radio Sussex

BBC Radio Sussex’s Sarah Gorrell challenged Zack Polanksi on his housing policy, which includes plans to build 150,000 new social homes annually.

Polanski was also asked about the party’s policy pledge to require local authorities to spread small developments across their area, and whether this was viable.

In East Sussex, Hastings Borough Council said it will likely deliver only about 35% of its housebuilding target, after being tasked to build 710 new homes a year by the government.

In response, he said: "We need to build the right homes at the right price in the right places. People are facing a toxic combination of high bills and low wages.

"I am on the side of renters."

BBC Essex

Zack Polanski told BBC Essex's Ben Fryer that the Greens “are taking a public health approach that’s led by data and experts” with its policy to legalise class A drugs such as crack cocaine.

Asked by Fryer if they would be available in corner shops in counties like Essex, Polanski said: “You wouldn’t have dangerous drugs in corner shops.

"If people are addicted to dangerous drugs, they would be getting that from a pharmacy, from an NHS professional”.

The leader of the Greens said his party’s “policy is to legalise and regulate” and claimed the UK has the worst drug deaths in Europe.

Speaking from a studio in Westminster, Polanski said “the war on drugs has failed”.

BBC Radio London

Speaking to Radio London’s Eddie Nestor, Zack Polanski makes a big pitch on one of the most pressing issues facing Londoners - the cost of housing.

The Green Party leader says he wants to drive the building of council housing rather than skyscrapers with “luxury unaffordable homes that no one will live in and will be sold off to foreign investors”.

He is also calling for rent controls in the capital, adding: “We will be speaking with one voice to say it’s unacceptable that up to 50% across London are one pay cheque away from losing their home.”

While Labour face a major challenge from the Greens in some London boroughs, Polanski has praised the government’s introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act, which takes effect on Friday.

Matt Cole
Senior political reporter, BBC Westminster

There’s a theme developing here, with Zack Polanski attacking Labour and Reform UK… other parties haven’t had a mention in his early interviews.

He told BBC London Labour “are finished, they are done” and that Sir Keir Starmer’s party is “terrified” of the Greens.

However, he went on to say he “applauds” Labour’s new renters’ rights policies, but said it was constant pressure from Green Party councillors which had made the government deliver.

Polanski promised London voters that listening would not stop with the election, and that “citizens' assemblies” would be formed to allow greater input into council decision making over local services.

Challenged about the money to pay for his plans, the Green leader said every council his party ran would get together for a national emergency summit to pressure the Westminster government on austerity.

BBC Radio Newcastle

BBC Radio Newcastle's Anna Foster asked Polanski about recent criticism of three Newcastle Green Party candidates who were accused of antisemitism.

Dr Philip Brookes, Chandni Chopra and Mohammed Suleman have been criticised for posts published on social media but will still appear as Green candidates on ballot papers.

Polanski said he was "one of only five Jewish people in British political history" to lead a major party, but he had also been critical of Israel's actions toward Palestine.

He said he took seriously a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which claimed party leaders should not get involved in disciplinary procedures.

But he said he had an "absolute commitment that one instance of genuine antisemitism was one instance too many" and he would keep working to make sure his party's values of fighting hate crime were "clear to everyone".

BBC Radio Leeds

Lofthouse, for BBC Radio Leeds, began by asking Polanski how he would improve the environment in places like Bradford, without making residents poorer.

She told him the city had a “huge problem” with air pollution and that environmental policies such as upgrading to cleaner transport could create a “huge extra expense for tradespeople in one of the most deprived areas in the UK”.

Polanski agreed it was a “serious issue” and action was needed to “clean up our air”.

He said: “You’re right, far too often air is more toxic in areas with working class communities and or black brown communities.”

Polanksi said one way to do that was to make sure there were safer cycle routes and to bring buses back into public control.

He also said where there were regional scrappage schemes, it was vital people had enough money and support to replace polluting vehicles.

“The burden cannot fall on the poorest communities," he said. "We need to make sure that at council level and national level, we’re working to support everyone to do the right thing and make sure we’re cleaning up Bradford’s air.”

Matt Cole
Senior political reporter, BBC Westminster

The Green Party leader has been repeating his twin aims to "replace Labour" and "stop Reform."

But BBC Radio Leeds' Gayle Lofthouse began with a ban on mentioning other parties.

He was given the chance to speak for 20 seconds against a clock, and by the time the bell rang, Polanksi had managed to say he wanted to tackle a toxic combination of low wages and high bills, to bring in rent control, and to deliver more social housing.

Later he confirmed his desire to see drugs legalised because "the war on drugs is failing." The leader said he wanted to see drugs treated as "a public health crisis."

Touching on other national issues, he said the social care crisis needed addressing, and claimed national government needed to give more cash to councils.

Some of this could be raised he suggested, by taxing rich folk's "unearned wealth" not other people's "earned income."

Polanski concluded the interview by answering what super power he would like. "To make everyone vote Green," he said.

Tony Bonsignore
Political reporter, BBC Westminster

Just eight months on from becoming party leader, Zack Polanski goes into these elections with his Green Party riding high in the polls and with a big by-election victory in Gorton and Denton under his belt.

The party has hopes of gaining hundreds of seats, particularly in the big towns and cities, and especially in London.

The Greens are focusing their messaging on the cost of living, the housing crisis, and what they say is a broken economic model. Unlike most of his political opponents, Zack Polanski hasn't hesitated in calling for higher taxes on the wealthy and big business.

Image source, PA Media

On the one hand the Greens are looking to attract disgruntled Labour voters, including former supporters of Jeremy Corbyn. But tacticaly they're also looking to paint themselves as the primary challengers to Reform UK, and become established as a real force in British politics.

But not everyone in the party is comfortable with the party's pivot to the left under its new leadership. And the Greens will need to persuade voters that their policies are realistic, and that they have the necessary skills and stamina needed for the day-to-day challenges of local government.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski's started his round of interviews with BBC local radio stations and is currently facing questions from BBC Radio Leeds presenter Gayle Lofthouse.

You can follow along by tapping on the watch live button at the top of this page

Tony Bonsignore
Political reporter, BBC Westminster

Image source, PA Media

Much of the Greens' recent surge in the polls can be put down to Zack Polanksi - voted in as party leader in September.

The 43-year-old - gay, vegan and a member of the London Assembly - is a self-styled "eco-populist", happy to bash the political establishment, the super-rich and big business. It's a deliberately provocative strategy, designed to tap into people's anger, marrying "substance with clickbait".

Born David Paulden in Greater Manchester, he attended a private school, Stockport Grammar, before changing his name at the age of 18. He studied drama at Aberystwyth University before going to drama school in Atlanta, Georgia, and later performed in community theatre.

Despite his success, some in the Green Party are nervous about focusing too much on their leader, and the deliberate downplaying of environmental issues.

Zack Polanksi also attracted controversy in 2013, when he allegedly claimed hypnotherapy could be used to enlarge a woman's breasts to an undercover reporter for The Sun.

This is going to be the biggest set of elections since the 2024 General Election.

Voters in Scotland and Wales will elect representatives to their national parliaments, while a number of local council and mayoral polls will take place in England.

This includes elections in 30 English councils that will now go ahead after the government abandoned previously announced plans to delay them.

In Northern Ireland, local council and Assembly elections are scheduled for May 2027.

You can check what elections taking place in your local area here.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski is about take part in a series of interviews on BBC local radio stations in England as we count down to the local elections on 7 May.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey will also face questions from our presenters later, with Nigel Farage (Reform UK) and Kemi Badenoch (Conservatives) to follow later this week. The Labour Party has also been invited to take part.

Today is a chance for us to quiz Polanski on his party's policies. First on his schedule is BBC Radio Leeds - he's due on air shortly after 10:05 BST.

He’ll also be appearing on BBC Radio Newcastle, BBC Radio London, BBC Essex, BBC Radio Sussex, BBC Radio Surrey, BBC Radio Merseyside and BBC Radio WM.

Stay with us for updates and analysis on all the key lines. You'll also be able to watch the interviews as they happen by tapping the watch live button at the top of this page.