{"id":10811,"date":"2026-04-10T06:39:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/10811\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:39:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:39:34","slug":"green-leader-zack-polanski-draws-crowds-in-margate-ahead-of-crunch-kent-county-council-by-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/10811\/","title":{"rendered":"Green leader Zack Polanski draws crowds in Margate ahead of crunch Kent County Council by-election"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Green Party leader Zack Polanski arrived in Margate this evening to a rock star\u2019s ovation as he backed his candidate ahead of a crunch by-election tomorrow (Thursday).<\/p>\n

Mr Polanski was met with a wall of noise as he entered the Where Else pub in the town centre.<\/p>\n

\"The\"TheThe Green Party leader Zack Polanski received a rockstar’s welcome in Margate<\/p>\n

An estimated 400 people packed inside the venue and listened from the street outside as he endorsed Rob Yates, a local district councillor.<\/p>\n

Mr Polanski\u2019s appearance on the eve of the poll for the Cliftonville division at Kent County Council was another clear sign of how seriously the party is taking the contest.<\/p>\n

He attacked Nigel Farage and Reform UK in his 10-minute speech, but said that this by-election was on a \u201cknife-edge\u201d between the two parties.<\/p>\n

The leader referenced the recent Goreton and Denton parliamentary by-election, in which the Greens snatched an unexpected victory over Reform.<\/p>\n

Mr Polanski said: \u201cRob is already a councillor in Thanet and has a record of achieving things, a record for standing up for refugees, a record of saying that the problems do not come by small boats – they are travelling above our heads.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hundreds\"HundredsHundreds of Green supporters packed into the Where Else? pub\"Cliftonville\"CliftonvilleCliftonville candidate Rob Yates and his Green Party leader on the Margate seafront this evening<\/p>\n

He also referenced Cllr Yates\u2019 record of achieving locally, such as fighting for more than two years to get a zebra crossing in his ward.<\/p>\n

Mr Polanski added: \u201cThat is exactly what happens when you elect people who care about their local community and who won\u2019t take no for an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

To loud cheers, he took aim at Southern Water for taking profits after pumping sewage into the sea and local rivers and demanded water companies be nationalised.<\/p>\n

The by-election was sparked after former Reform UK councillor Daniel Taylor was jailed for controlling behaviour towards his wife<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Taylor had won the election in May 2025 with 40% of the vote and was part of the Reform landslide that saw the party take 57 of the 81 seats at KCC. He was suspended after his arrest and expelled when he was convicted.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Lord\"LordLord Mackinlay, a former Thanet MP, backed candidate Charlie Leys<\/p>\n

Reform UK, Labour, Conservatives and the Greens believe they can win in Cliftonville.<\/p>\n

Some local observers now see it as a two-horse race between Reform UK\u2019s Marc Rattigan and the Greens\u2019 Cllr Yates. Others say it is impossible to call.<\/p>\n

Conservative candidate Charlie Leys says the race is still wide open.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIf I thought I was out of the race, I wouldn\u2019t be out today delivering letters – I\u2019d bank my annual leave and go back to work. I genuinely think it\u2019s all to play for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The campaign has been fought with the same intensity as a parliamentary by-election, with a host of big names in the division including Dame Emily Thornberry for Labour, Caroline Lucas for the Greens, Lord (Craig) Mackinlay for the Conservatives and Robert Jenrick for Reform UK.<\/p>\n

\"Labour\"LabourLabour candidate Joanne Bright with Dame Emily Thornberry and Polly Billington MP<\/p>\n

Over the course of the race, which started on March 3, hundreds of activists from all parties have been mustered to go door to door.<\/p>\n

Turnout will be crucial tomorrow but whether the sunny, warm day over the Easter school holidays acts as a help or a hindrance in getting the 15,000 electors out will become apparent on the day.<\/p>\n

Another unknown is how much tactical voting and the targeting of the postal vote will come into play.<\/p>\n

Locals have raised potholed roads (which is a KCC responsibility), illegal immigration, the cost of living, local bus services and a lack of public toilets as key issues.<\/p>\n

Polling stations are open from 7am until 10pm and voters must bring a valid form of identification, such as a passport or driving licence, to cast their ballots.<\/p>\n

\"Lib\"LibLib Dem candidate Dr Mo Shafaei\"Independent\"IndependentIndependent candidate Lucy Gray<\/p>\n

The full list of candidates for the by-election is: Joanne Bright (Labour); Lucy Gray (Independent); Charlie Leys (Conservative Party); Marc Rattigan (Reform UK); Dr Mo Shafaei (Liberal Democrats) and Rob Yates (Green Party).<\/p>\n

The polling stations are:<\/p>\n

Botany Bay Hotel, Marine Drive, Broadstairs, CT10 3LG<\/p>\n

St Andrews Church Hall, Reading Street, Broadstairs, CT10 3AZ<\/p>\n

Cliftonville Community Centre, 23 St Pauls Road, Margate, CT9 2DB<\/p>\n

Margate Bowls Club, Northdown Avenue, Margate, CT9 2NW<\/p>\n

Cliftonville (Outdoor) Bowls Club, St Georges Pavilion, Third Avenue, Margate, CT9 2DW<\/p>\n

6 St Philips Church, Summerfield Road, Margate, CT9 3JJ<\/p>\n

Hi, it’s Matt here. If you’re a fan of local politics, you really should be reading our weekly Kent Politics Briefing newsletter. Out every Friday morning it offers a fantastic mix of news, views and gossip, plus pictures from our archives and a fun quiz. It’s easy to sign up for free, click on the below button and follow the instructions.<\/p>\n

Join KentOnline today<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Green Party leader Zack Polanski arrived in Margate this evening to a rock star\u2019s ovation as he backed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10812,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[309,14,1084,5,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-10811","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-kent","9":"tag-politics","10":"tag-thanet","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116379043022022698","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}