Green leader Zack Polanski 'bad for nature', Tory warns

Zack Polanski might be living his best life, taking the Greens to record highs in the polls and rubbing shoulders with celebrities on TV.

CEN MP Blake Stephenson

What is striking from his many interviews is he doesn't seem to talk about the environment very much. 

He seems far more interested in exploiting Trump's threats against Greenland to excuse his desire to scrap Trident, which would be an incoherent and frankly criminal act of self-harm. 

Not to mention the endless self-promotion, woke issues, and fantasy economics he can think of.

On the few occasions he does talk about the environment, however, he binds it to radical left-wing economics and causes.

In doing so, he is making environmental protection seem economically reckless and politically divisive to the public. 

Voters will assume protecting nature and reducing pollution mean accepting economic self-harm and extreme societal change - he is effectively Jeremy Corbyn in disguise.

Here marks the true threat of Polanski - he will turn the environment into a toxic, left-wing issue that only serves to undermine Britain and foster division.

His failure to understand basic economics should be particularly jarring for anyone who believes in common sense. 

Perhaps most troubling is his active indifference to the risks of driving up government debt. Make no mistake: his taxpayer-funded spending spree would push up interest rates and make financing infrastructure of all kinds - including renewable energy and railways - unaffordable.

His claims that 'you can't protect the planet while protecting the profits' are also misguided. 

It is wrong and dangerous to suggest that action on climate change can only be achieved by sacrificing economic growth, shunning markets, and punishing companies that bring economic opportunity to Britain. 

That alienates anyone who worries about the prosperity of our nation - which is basically every voter. It also misses the fact that encouraging profit is key to getting companies to invest in green projects and innovation without burdening the Treasury.

Polanski isn't just coming after economic growth, he is looking to punish ordinary people by asking them to sacrifice life's everyday pleasures.

Bans on flying, restrictions on petrol cars, only vegan meals served in schools - the list is endless. Instead of taking away, we should be expanding choice by encouraging innovation in new technologies and making them cheaper.

Instead of banning petrol cars, why not help make electric vehicle EVs more accessible and affordable; a lesson clearly Rachel Reeves has also not yet learnt with her overzealous pay-per-mile tax on EVs.

If economic self-sabotage and blanket bans weren't enough to alienate people, maybe a healthy dose of identity politics will do the trick. Zack Polanski links his climate agenda to trans rights, open borders, and Palestinian solidarity.

Polanski believes there is no climate action without social justice.

Polanski has taken an agenda that people can get behind - safeguarding the environment for our children and grandchildren - and mixed it into a cocktail of extreme left-wing causes.

People want to protect our environment, but it shouldn't cost the earth. This is where Conservatives can provide a credible, pragmatic alternative.

Polanski doesn't understand the concerns or priorities of ordinary voters. He certainly doesn't understand how to protect the environment responsibly. He would rather focus on political click-bait to get himself on TV.

I hope for our nation and planet's sake, no one treats him seriously.

First published by Daily Mail. Blake Stephenson is the Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire.