1. There's concern/exasperation among sensible politics understanderers that Zack Polanski is fighting the campaign as if Keir Starmer is still Prime Minister. Hasn't he noticed that there's been a change in Number 10? That Labour's polling recovery mean the Greens are finished? Let's consider the key issues the Green leader is running on. First, the cost of living crisis. Andy Burnham has emoted an understanding of the difficulties people are facing, but so far the action taken is around the edges. And as Sam Coates helpfully revealed last weekend, a lot of Burnham's new measures were in the grid ready for another Starmer relaunch. Second, in addition to bread and butter issues, the Greens are talking about the environment, climate change, and the government's shilly-shallying over North Sea oil. Has our new Prime Minister shifted on this? If anything, he's giving off the impression that more drilling is going to happen. That, and the fact it's in the Number 10 leak too - albeit linked to easing cost-of-living pressures. And finally, Polanski's message is vote Green to keep Labour honest. He says the Greens are responsible for pushing Labour to the left, and there's certainly a case for that following Labour's crushing in Gorton and Denton. Adding in Labour's pathetic failure to confront the far right politically, only a columnist whose windows on the world are other Westminster hacks and exclusive dinner party guests could think there's no market for what Polanski is selling.
2. Nor is Holborn and St Pancras a do-or-die election for Polanski. His leadership has taken the Greens to unprecedented heights, delivering its best ever local election results, its highest ever membership, and its first parliamentary by-election victory. There are moaners in the party who, as "senior sources", frequently leak their displeasure about his social media activity to a press only too happy to bury the Greens, but he's not going anywhere. If the party doesn't win, there will be future London by-elections. And by then, the sheen might have worn off Labour's new leader. But by the same token, a loss would hardly be fatal for Burnham. It would be a reminder that better polling does not mean the Greens have gone away, despite their obviously dropping support. And it could be spun as needing to go further on tackling living standards, rents, prices. In other words, confirming the direction of travel Burnham's initial speeches mapped out. It's not immediately obvious how, as per under Starmer, losing a turf war with the Greens on the grounds they're campaigning on can force Labour rightwards. Indeed, to keep up the recovery of its base, to undo the damage inflicted by the Starmer/McSweeney duumvirate, Labour has no choice but to avoid such idiocy. Assuming it's in the business of wanting to win the next general election.
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