Green leader Zack Polanski ‘open to working with Burnham but not Starmer’

Zack Polanski claimed he could “see the potential” to co-operate politically with the Greater Manchester Mayor, who has attracted speculation about his ambitions in recent months.

Reports earlier this month suggested the former New Labour minister was seeking a Westminster comeback as the Prime Minister grapples with leadership rumblings within the party.

Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that a poor result for Labour in the May elections could prompt a contest to replace Sir Keir, though Mr Burnham would only be able to run if he became a sitting MP beforehand.

“I could see the potential to work with Andy Burnham to stop Reform and to challenge the rise of the far right,” Mr Polanski told the Financial Times.

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“I would rule it out with Keir Starmer but I wouldn’t rule it out with Burnham.”

The Green leader has previously expressed interest in Mr Burnham’s suggestion that the UK should be less “in hock to the bond markets” and defended his position on Wednesday.

“That’s not to say the market shouldn’t have a role, but they shouldn’t be dictating what elected politicians do,” he said.

The self-described “eco-populist” also denied he needed to improve his own stance on the economy after appearing to falter when asked questions about the size of Government debt in an interview with the Rest is Politics podcast.

He likened the line of questioning from co-host Rory Stewart to an “ambush” and claimed there was a “fundamental dishonesty to the way that the interview was conducted” because he had been told it was not a discussion about the budget.

Mr Polanski conceded he “didn’t know some numbers and I hold my hands up to that,” but that he stood by the principles he was advocating, which included abandoning the Chancellor’s fiscal rules and introducing a wealth tax which he said would raise nearly £15 billion a year.

Responding to his remarks, a Labour source said: “Keir Starmer’s Labour Government is bringing the change to Britain he promised.

“We are delivering progressive reforms that have raised the national minimum wage, cut NHS waiting lists, delivered new rights for renters and the most significant package of workers’ rights in a generation, and will lift over half a million children out of poverty.

“Those are Labour achievements, not Green Party achievements, and there are more to come, because this Labour Government is focused on getting on with the job of changing working people’s lives for the better.”