Green Party co-leader Zack Polanski has accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of failing to be “entirely truthful” with the British public over the extent of UK involvement in the Iran war, claiming American bombers continue using British bases and airspace for Iranian strikes despite government insistence Britain is not participating in the conflict.
Speaking at a south-east London campaign launch ahead of 7 May local elections, Mr Polanski demanded the Government “disentangle” UK and US military operations whilst calling for British airspace bans on American aircraft conducting Middle Eastern missions.
“The prime minister is not being entirely truthful with us all, with the country,” Mr Polanski stated. “He keeps saying that we are not involved with this war, but we still have UK soil and UK bases where US bombers are flying over to Iran.”
The Green leader urged Britain to follow Spain’s example under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in refusing military cooperation, declaring: “This war is not in our name and we want nothing to do with it.”
Mr Polanski additionally condemned Israel’s continued Lebanon bombardment despite the US-Iran ceasefire agreed overnight Tuesday, arguing: “It is outrageous that Israel are still enjoying diplomatic and trade privileges from the international community.”
He demanded “much more robust sanctions” including withdrawal from the UK-Israel Trade Agreement and called for international action to “end the genocide.”
Turning to domestic electoral prospects, Mr Polanski projected confidence the Greens would surpass their 2023 record-breaking performance that netted 241 new councillors, despite May’s elections involving half the seats contested in the previous cycle.
“In 2023, we had a record breaking result as a Green party. Now, 2023 was an election where double the number of seats were in play than there are at this election,” he acknowledged.
“Nevertheless, I am confident but not complacent. In this election, we are going to be 241 councillors and we are heading for a new record-breaking result for the Green Party.”
The dual-pronged campaign launch sought positioning the Greens as both viable local governance alternatives and the sole major party demanding complete British military disengagement from Middle Eastern conflicts.
Mr Polanski’s criticism of Sir Keir’s Iran stance reflects broader Green Party positioning on foreign policy, with the party consistently opposing British support for American military operations whilst calling for arms embargoes and sanctions against Israel.
The May 7 elections will test whether the Greens can translate foreign policy criticism and environmental messaging into expanded local council representation across England.
