Zack Polanski accused of ‘poisonous’ tactics as Green leader releases video in Urdu

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'Politics in our country should be conducted in the language of public life,' Tory MP Katie Lam said

Zack Polanski has been accused of using “poisonous” tactics after he released a campaign video entirely in Urdu.

The Green Party leader is running to become an MP, hoping to win Sir Keir Starmer’s old London seat of Holborn and St Pancras.

The London Assembly member was announced as the Green Party’s candidate last week after the former Prime Minister stepped down as an MP.

In his bid to secure a Westminster seat, Mr Polanski released a video addressed to voters in Urdu, a language native to Pakistan and India.

“My name is Zack Polanski, and I am standing for the seat of Holborn and St Pancras,” the Green Party leader began, accompanied by Urdu subtitles.

“Because of pressure from the Greens, Labour has made many U-turns. Vote for the Greens.”

The simple message ended with an end card, also in Urdu, saying the Green Party was “the voice of local people, not big companies”.

Mr Polanski’s video, shared through his podcast Bold Politics’s social media accounts, drew a reaction from Conservative MP Katie Lam.

“Here's the leader of the Green Party, campaigning in Urdu,” she wrote on X, responding to the video.

“Attempting to appeal to group-based grievances by campaigning in foreign languages is poisonous.

“We must ban this practice for good. Politics in our country should be conducted in the language of public life,” the Weald of Kent MP said.

According to 2021 census data, just 256 people speak Urdu as a main language in the borough of Camden, where the seat of Holborn and Pancras is found.

With a population of around 217,000 in the borough, only 0.12 per cent of locals use Urdu as their main tongue.

The Green Party previously sparked debate during the Gorton and Denton by-election when it released campaign ads in both Urdu and Bangla.

Mr Polanski is hoping to win the north London seat, which Labour are keen to hold onto after Sir Keir’s resignation.

Former Somalian child refugee and leader of Camden Council, Sagal Abdi-Wali, is hoping to stand as Labour’s candidate for the seat.

Pete Newman, a former counter-terrorism commander, is also standing in the seat as Reform UK's candidate.

Meanwhile, Councillor Patrick Stillman has been chosen as the Liberal Democrats' candidate.

Ewan Cameron, a former Camden councillor and local political campaigner, will contest the seat for the Conservatives.

Upon his confirmation as the Green Party candidate, Mr Polanski said: “The Greens might be the underdog in this election, but we have the momentum, and we can win.

“It’s clear everyone knows it’s the Green Party against Labour, and before May we had one councillor here, and now we have 10.

“Last weekend we had so many people on the streets that we delivered leaflets to the entire constituency in just a few hours.”

In the 2024 general election, Sir Keir held the seat with 48.9 per cent of the vote, ahead of independent candidate Andrew Feinstein in second place on 18.9 per cent and the Greens in third on 10.4 per cent.

The Conservatives came fourth on 7.2 per cent, Reform finished fifth on 6.1 per cent, and the Liberal Democrats were sixth on 5.8 per cent.