He’s certainly come out fighting and challenging some sacred cows.
Interesting to see where the conversation will go. I imagine UK politicians and the media will be fairly infantile in their responses
The fact that he says it’s not radical is even more heartening.
BBC
The leader of the Green Party says he wants to legalise all drugs, calling for an approach “led by public health experts, not politicians”.
Speaking to BBC South East ahead of his party conference, Zack Polanski said he agreed with a Kent Green councillor, who earlier this year called for the legalisation of all drugs, including class A drugs like heroin and crack cocaine.
Polanski said “the war on drugs has absolutely failed, and ultimately we need to be having a public health approach”.
When asked about implications of this for the taxpayer, he replied, “Well, I think voters are having to pay right now for a crime that happens, for the fact that people are in the illegal drug markets, for gangs that we see across county lines.
“All of this is a failure of the fact that, again, for far too long, Prime Ministers have stuck their heads in their sand and said, if we just make drugs illegal, everything’s going to be okay.”
The Green Party of England and Wales is gathering in Bournemouth for their first autumn conference under a new leadership team which also consists of deputy co-leaders Mothin Ali and Rachel Millward, the current deputy leader of Wealden District Council.
The party has seen growing success in local council elections in parts of Kent Sussex and Surrey in recent years, including in previously Conservative-voting areas like Wealden, Reigate and Maidstone.
Modelling himself as an “eco-populist” during the recent leadership election, Polanski was seen to have a more radical, left-wing approach.
It was argued by his opponents that this might alienate the more moderate, former Conservative party voters who had turned to the party over issues like protecting green spaces from housebuilding.
The leader rejected this idea when speaking to BBC South East.
He said: “I think the radical thing for people in the South East is the fact that their wages have not gone up, but their bills have gone up, the fact that they can’t get an NHS dentist appointment.
“The fact that it feels like there’s no real future or opportunities for young people.
“So I don’t actually think what I’m offering is radical. What I’m offering, I think can appeal to almost everybody.”
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Sean Hocking
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