Greens' Polanski backs utilities nationalisation and public spending

Zack Polanski, who was elected leader of the Green Party on 2 September, used his opening conference address in Bournemouth to press for wide-ranging economic change, calling for nationalisation of utilities and renewed public investment to cut household bills and fund public services. Polanski, a London Assembly member who won the leadership contest by a large margin, has overseen a surge in membership and a shift in the party's emphasis since taking charge.

Polanski defeated a joint ticket of two senior figures in the contest, winning roughly 85 percent of the vote. Party membership has jumped rapidly in the weeks since his election, passing a record 80,000 after gains of more than 10,000 in a month, and recent polling has put the Greens at around 10 percent support. The leader described that growth as the source of his influence, saying, "I am having influence because we are growing."

At the conference he reiterated a platform that moves beyond traditional environmental campaigning to embrace what he calls an ecopopulist agenda: proposals include a wealth tax, large-scale social housing and community investment, and bringing utilities back into public ownership. Polanski has...