David Vance SubstackRead More
Just days before the elections, there is a major credibility crisis for the Green Party with fresh revelations exposing Leader Zack Polanski as a serial embellisher of his credentials. Imagine my surprise!
What began as a quirky backstory about this former amateur hypnotherapist promising to enlarge women’s breasts through the power of suggestion has turned into a much broader pattern of misrepresentation. It raises serious questions about trust in one of Britain’s most prominent political figures. Can we believe a word that he say?
According to an exclusive investigation by The Times, Polanski falsely presented himself as a “spokesperson” for the British Red Cross while crowdfunding his 2022 campaign for Green Party deputy leader. He repeated the claim on his website and donation pages, stating he was “really proud of the work we do.”
Now The Red Cross has firmly denied this: Polanski “has not been a spokesperson.” They confirmed that he merely hosted fundraisers and appeared on stage in support. The Green Party’s response—that he had been “involved” in events—falls way short of the bigger role that he claimed. Claiming affiliation with a humanitarian organisation during a political fundraiser is to exploit public goodwill and to deceive donors
Of course Polanski’s pre-political career as a hypnotherapist has long invited ridicule, but the details keep getting worse. In 2013, he offered sessions to a Sun journalist aimed at increasing her breast size. When the story resurfaced, he claimed misrepresentation and demanded an immediate apology on the BBC. Records show otherwise. Six days later, in a BBC Radio Humberside interview, he stood by the idea, citing “anecdotal evidence” of success from his work with clients. WTF?
He also claimed full membership in the National Council of Hypnotherapy to potential clients, despite only holding student status at the relevant time. The council has confirmed he was never a full member. Even setting aside the absurdity of hypnotic breast enlargement, the pattern is damning; Polanski promoted questionable services, inflated his qualifications, and later rewrote the narrative once in the political spotlight. His recent insistence that he “never believed” in the technique rings hollow against the actual evidence.
But there is more! The Times highlighted other disputed claims on his past promotional materials, including overstated roles with groups like Make Votes Matter. Polanski changed his name from David Paulden to supposedly embrace his Jewish heritage but his professional résumé appears to have undergone similar reinvention for political gain. If a politician inflates minor volunteer gigs into official spokesperson roles and peddles fringe therapies while claiming expertise, what does that say about the authenticity of their broader platform?
Polanski’s unraveling suggests that, for all the lofty rhetoric, his leadership rests on the same shaky foundations as his old hypnotherapy promises! Britain’s voters, especially those considering the Greens amid local elections, deserve better than another fraud exposed too late. Perhaps most depressingly, I don’t think this exposure of Polanski’s deceits will impact his votes this Thursday. I think some people will swallow the lies and still vote Green.
