This week along with almost 140 other Labour MPs I wrote to the Foreign Secretary demanding a ban on trade will illegal Israeli settlements. Illegal settlement expansion, and settler violence, are unacceptable and against international law. (1/2)

The concerns I raised about Gaza - including distressing eyewitness accounts from UK medics - were a result of moral urgency, not 'mid life crisis'. It felt like hitting a brick wall at the time - now I know how casually those concerns were dismissed. theguardian.com/politics/202…

Hi Zack, Happy to share the full transcript below for transparency. As ever, we're trying to cover a few different areas in a relatively short duration for the vid so not everything makes it in. I was keen to reference somewhere the explanations you provided though & my take that they showed some of stories were a bit overdone. Cheers, Rob ROB POWELL: [14:18:53] I did want to ask you about whether you paid council tax when you were apparently living on a narrowboat, whether you, that was your permanent residence, whether you should have paid it and whether you did. [14:19:01][8.0] ZACK POLANSKI: [14:19:01] Well, it's still unclear in terms of the councillor saying that they don't know whether on that mooring people should be paying council tax or not. What I have said is, of course, if I owe any council tax, I'll absolutely pay it. And even if I don't know any council tax, I'll still donate the money to charity. This was a mistake. It's still not clear whether I've made the same mistake the council has made, and I'm still waiting for a clearer answer on that. [14:19:22][20.1] ROB POWELL: [14:19:22] I mean, was that your permanent residence, though? [14:19:23][1.3] ZACK POLANSKI: [14:19:23] Yeah, I was living on the boat. And, what the council have said in public is that they think there's a statutory exemption on that Marina in terms of not paying council tax. Having said that, though, of course, if I owe any council tax, I will absolutely pay it. [14:19:34][10.7][40.2] ROB POWELL: [14:19:34] I guess when inquiries were initially made about this story, I think a spokesperson said that you only stayed there occasionally. It was. Was that just a mistake or were you misleading journalists there? [14:19:43][8.9] ZACK POLANSKI: [14:19:44] No. By that point I've moved out and I am living in a house share. And so council tax is part of my House share agreement. But also I still have the boat as a leisure mooring. What I'd say.... [14:19:53][9.8] ROB POWELL: [14:19:54] We were talking about the situation then, rather than the situation stretching back over a few years. [14:19:57][3.6] ZACK POLANSKI: [14:19:58] That's right. [14:19:58][0.2] ROB POWELL: [14:19:58] That's what the statement to the Times newspaper was about? [14:20:00][1.7][24.2] ZACK POLANSKI: [14:20:00] Exactly. And what I'd say more widely, and I think this is a bit that hasn't been told in this way, is that two people have been arrested in the last couple of months in relation to anti-Semitic and indeed homophobic abuse towards me. In fact, in Manchester during the Gorton and Denton byelection, myself and a staff member were followed while being filmed and someone shouted Gay Jew at me. They were then arrested and once the newspaper started to print that I was living on a boat, lots of people started to turn up around the boat in a way that made me feel incredibly unsafe, and then moved to a house where paparazzi had turned up outside the house. Yeah, I think it's totally reasonable for journalists to ask me questions. I think it's important that I'm scrutinised. I do think it's also important, though, that politicians' public safety is regarded and considered. Now there's two operations for politicians. One is called Operation Ford and one is called Operation Bridget. Operation for this for councillors, operation Bridger is for MPs as a London Assembly member and a leader of a national party. There is a loophole where I've not fallen that any of these security arrangements for the Home Office are currently reviewing, and I'm in active conversation with them about it. But it is important to say, whilst all of this was going on, my safety was a concern and frankly, the safety of my partner too. [14:21:08][67.7] ROB POWELL: [14:21:08] I appreciate it must be very, very difficult for you on the safety front. That sounds very stressful and a traumatic experience. I guess the reason why I'm bringing it up is not so much wanting to sort of get at your personal living situations. It's more a question around honesty. I was interested in that initial statement that the party put out saying you lived there occasionally, which didn't turn out to be true. The Party said that you voted in the local elections. That subsequently didn't turn out to be true either. There have been times in the past as well, where you talked about being a spokesperson for a charity, and that didn't turn out to be true. I guess what I'm getting at is it is less a question about your personal situation, and more a question about your honesty and integrity as a person and a politician, because these sorts of mishaps or inadvertent errors seem to follow you around a little bit. [14:21:52][43.7] ZACK POLANSKI: [14:21:52] Well, it's really important that I build trust with the public. It's also important that I'm very frank. I think there's been a targeted smear campaign. And let me explain what I mean by that. With the Red cross, for instance, it's very clear that I hosted fundraisers for the Red cross. In fact, I went on stage for them where they gave me scripts and I would speak for them. So I think to say I was a spokesperson was not particularly a lie. I think I could have been more accurate in the words I used and said I was an MC. They hosted fundraisers and spoke on their behalf. I accept that. I think also in terms of the time statement and the time that I gave a statement, the statement I was living in a house share. I didn't want to say that I lived on the boat because I've moved off the boat. And also, as I said, I was worried about my public safety. I understand when the media starts to put all of these things together. There's an easy narrative here to say he's not telling the truth, but what I would also say similarly, I think if you pick someone apart enough on kind of very, very minute things and trivial things, you can start to paint a picture of someone that isn't true. And I accept people don't just have to take my word for that. I think they should look at my record and my record as a London Assembly member and indeed as leader of the Green Party, where I've had a history of standing up for marginalised groups, I have a history of living true to my values, both with environmental, social, racial and economic justice. So I totally accept it. And this is where there's a tightrope to walk. It's right that I'm scrutinised. It's right that I'm asked questions, but also the disproportionality of which I'm scrutinised, and a council tax bill, for instance. But it still turns out I might not even know, has been scrutinised compared to the £5 million of Nigel Farage, for instance. [14:23:18][86.2] ROB POWELL: [14:23:19] I mean, that came to light because of journalistic scrutiny as well. And Nigel Farage is being scrutinised. Can you really say you're being subjected to anything more than any party political leader in, you know, on top of a party that looks to be in its ascendancy and is doing very well? Isn't that just a relevant amount of scrutiny you're being subject to which Nigel Farage is being subject to on the right wing as well? [14:23:38][19.5] ZACK POLANSKI: [14:23:38] I think I can say very clearly that if you compare the scrutiny that I receive compared to what Reform receives, it's incredibly disproportionate. Now, in the same breath, I should receive scrutiny, as should Nigel Farage. But far too often we see with right wing politicians, we're talking about £5 million here compared to a council. [14:23:55][17.0] ROB POWELL: [14:23:56] In which we journalists are investigating and publishing new stories about. It's not, you know, it was revealed because of journalistic inquiry as well. [14:24:03][6.3] ZACK POLANSKI: [14:24:03] Well, so let me give you another example. I think Labour together, you know, and Josh Simons, it turns out that he potentially, allegedly hired a private investigator to investigate. [14:24:11][8.0] ROB POWELL: [14:24:12] The story, which was revealed by a newspaper and journalist. [14:24:14][2.0] ZACK POLANSKI: [14:24:14] But I imagine if we walked through this park, most people don't know about that story, but other stories get pushed very, very heavily. And we do know that there's an agenda here with media organisations, not all media organisations, but I'm a politician that wants to tax multi-millionaires and billionaires. I want to challenge wealth and power in this country. And some media organisations hold that wealth and power. Now, I also want to say, and this is really important, journalism is a noble profession. There are journalists who are losing their lives all around the world to report in warzones and indeed who are rightly scrutinising politicians. So this isn't binary in terms of one person should be asked questions and one person shouldn't be asked questions. But what I am saying is, I think the way that the Red cross story was reported, for instance, I think most people, when they hear the full story goes, that's pretty unfair. That wasn't quite right. Let me give you another example. The Ministry of Justice, I think it was the times reported the story. If I hadn't ever worked on the Ministry of Justice, I was employed by an agency, where I worked inside the Ministry of Justice building. Did I directly work for Ministry of Justice? No. Did I ever said I did? No, I said I worked for the Ministry of Justice. So again, I just think there's ways of picking apart what someone saying and presenting them as misleading or presenting them as a liar, when actually, I think I'm being very frank, I'm being very transparent and I'm agreeing I should be asked questions. But I also think it's fair enough as a politician to push back to and say, actually, there is. That does feel like there's a disproportionality in how politicians on the left are treated compared to on the right. And the very final thing I'd say on that is I've mentioned my personal safety to you, and I was pleased, you know, you recognise that that is an issue. But the fact that there's still paparazzi turning up outside my door just feels disproportionate, as opposed to the fact I'm often in public. I often advertise where I'm going in public. So if journalists want to ask me questions, they can come to ask me questions. I'm not sure what turning up outside the house share where I'm renting is for public conversation. I know you've not done that, but it's just a wider point I'd make. [14:25:59][104.8] ROB POWELL: [14:25:59] Okay, Zack Polanski. Thank you. [14:26:01][1.2][158.8] (ENDED)

Andy Green Chair, Unite Executive Council. I support Sharon Graham for general secretary, Sharon has transformed Unite. No longer do we cosy up to politicians, we hold them to account, as it should be. 1/2

On behalf of their client, Zara Sultana, Bindmans Media and Information Law Practise Group requires that I publish the following statement on X, and that such statement must be clearly visible and pinned to my profile for a continuous period of no less than 24 hours: “On 30 March 2026, I published a post on my X account addressed to Zarah Sultana in which I stated that she encourages and incites violence and is friends with terrorists. Those statements are false. I was wrong and offer my sincere apologies to Ms Sultana for the harm and distress caused to her.” It is my very great pleasure to do this, and I reiterate my sincere and repeated offer to meet with Miss Zara Sultana in person to resolve our differences.

I haven’t drunk alcohol in over 4 years but I don’t believe a total ban is necessary in Parliament and know Southwark brewers have loved being the guest beer in Strangers. I’m also unaware of any Labour MP who took money from women to hypnotise their breasts larger.

Working in a palace is mad. It’s part of job I struggle most with. Smell of fags&beer at 10pm are one of things that make it seem tiny bit normal🍻 I say that as someone who’s never smoked & got sober to become an MP! If I ever feel comfortable there, it’s time to leave…

As a Jew, I have to say this politely, @ZackPolanski: you don’t speak for the Jewish community at all. In fact, I’ve never met another Jew who supports your positions or your party’s record on this. It’s striking how quickly the far left trots out the ‘single Jewish party leader’ card whenever convenient - almost as if you’re the token Jew they need to launder their antisemitism. The same goes for the Islamists and their allies who’ve decided they get to define what is and isn’t antisemitic for the rest of us. I’ve just dealt with exactly this at @RoyalHolloway, where Muslim students felt perfectly entitled to lecture Jews on the subject while ignoring (or celebrating) October 7th and everything that’s followed. Non-Jews don’t get to define our experience. But neither do you, Zack. The vast majority of us see right through it.