Green Party Policies: Surge, Scandal and Five Proposals Dominating the By-Election

The spotlight on green party policies has intensified as the party appears poised for a breakthrough in a looming by-election — a development that has prompted blistering media attacks and fierce debate over a set of headline-grabbing proposals. The implications stretch from local vote dynamics to national arguments over migration, taxation, farming and drugs.

Green Party Policies on the by-election battleground

Local campaigning is vivid: Gorton and Denton are described as awash with fluorescent green posters as the party’s candidate, Hannah Spencer, takes a direct fight to Reform UK on the doorstep. The party’s leader, Zack Polanski, is said to be surging in the polls, and commentators suggest the Greens could siphon votes by the thousands from Labour — potentially producing the party’s first parliamentary by-election win in its resurgent phase.

Five headline policies that have drawn fire

Beyond broad pledges about environmental protection, the manifesto contains concrete proposals that critics portray as bizarre or unworkable. The items most frequently cited in public discussion include:

• Legal drugs proposals referenced in commentary and coverage, including mentions of legal heroin and plans related to other hard drugs that have triggered sharp criticism.
• An annual wealth tax structure proposed at 1% on assets valued above £10 million and 2% on assets above £1 billion.
• An immediate end to badger culling as a policy position.
• A promise of a £15 minimum wage.
• Migration reforms framed as far-reaching by opponents and presented by some commentators as an effective amnesty for illegal migrants.

Debate over the wealth tax centres on practical problems: wealth is hard to value, especially when it includes art, property and offshore holdings; implementation would require many valuers and auditors; the very wealthy typically deploy skilled accountants; and there is concern that successful small business owners or pensioners whose homes have appreciated could be unintentionally caught in a new tax net.

Migration claims and the amnesty row

A front-page tabloid headline alleging that the Greens plan to hand illegal migrants housing, a wage and healthcare has sharpened attention on the party’s migration policy. A paragraph widely circulated in commentary claims the Greens would abolish immigration detention and grant a full amnesty allowing illegal migrants to remain in Britain even if asylum claims are rejected. That migration policy was voted on and passed by party members in March 2023 and has been publicly available on the party’s website since then.

The policy paper’s opening rhetoric expresses a long-term aim of a world without borders, followed by a stated intention to implement a fair and humane system of managed immigration in the interim. Critics from rival parties, notably Reform’s Zia Yusuf, have framed these proposals as an ‘‘open-borders’’ plan that would invite criminals and hoodlums and entitle them to housing and healthcare — a line of attack emphasising public expectations that immigration controls be robustly enforced.

Media backlash, high-profile critics and the party response

High-profile commentators have intensified the controversy. Jeremy Clarkson is cited as slamming the party’s leader over an expansive drug policy, while Laura Kuenssberg has been prominent in criticism tied to proposals on legalising crack. An opinion columnist has run an extended attack labelling the leader a major creep in politics. These rows follow earlier contrarian comment pieces defending public figures such as Prince Andrew and the House of York, noted in recent commentary around the same debates.

The party’s public reply has been succinct: a spokesperson emphasised pride in policies that were voted on and decided by members and pointed out that such policies regularly poll well. Analysts note that the framing used by critics is often a bad-faith reading designed to inflame rather than clarify, and warn that if the Greens continue to grow as a mainstream proposition they will need to be better prepared for sustained political assault.

What comes next

The immediate test will be the by-election result and whether the Green surge translates into a seat that confirms the party’s changing status. In the short term, campaign dynamics in Gorton and Denton and messaging on contentious items such as migration, taxation, farming disease control and drugs will determine whether green party policies broaden appeal or harden opposition. Observers say details remain contested and political pressure is likely to force clearer statements and fuller defence of the proposals; some elements described in coverage may continue to evolve.