At an event hosted by KCL Greens and KCL Politics Society on 1 December, the leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, branded King’s College London as “morally vacuous” for terminating Usama Ghanmen’s visa over pro-Palestine campus protests.
Ghanem was indefinitely suspended from King’s in May following pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) regarding pro-Palestine protests on campus. The university withdrew its support for his visa, putting him at risk of deportation to Egypt, where he reportedly faces a risk of torture.
The newly elected Green Party leader was responding to a question by Roar surrounding financing the removal of tuition fees when he used the opportunity to condemn King’s decision:
“[The university’s decision is] morally vacuous in terms of, this is a man who could go back to Egypt, could be tortured or imprisoned, and the crime that he’s done is stand up for Palestine, as far as I understand it.”
Polanski joins Jeremy Corbyn who also previously condemned the decision when speaking to Roar.
A King’s College London spokesperson said:
“We were pleased to welcome Zack Polanski to King’s this week to continue a rich tradition of events underpinned by our commitment to free expression on campus that reflect our diverse student body. We want to make it absolutely clear that we do not discipline students for lawful affiliations, including support for pro-Palestine views, nor for participating in lawful protests. Any disciplinary measures are a consequence of breaches of our policies and regulations which are in place to maintain a safe and inclusive environment as well as ensure freedom of expression for all our community on campus.”
Polanski was elected Green leader in September 2025. Since then, in the latest YouGov poll (1 December), the Green Party reached 16% of the voting intention, and their membership has broken records with 170,000 members. When their recent success was mentioned, Polanski remarked “hint-hint” in a bid to attract more members.
Much of the evening was spent discussing specific issues in British politics, but Polanski seemed to nonetheless make a concerted effort to connect with the student audience, helped along by the questions and commentary of KCL Greens President Florence Wilson.
The London Assembly Member was asked how the Greens would improve student housing based on a recent Roar survey that found nearly 50% of King’s students spent their full student loan on rent. Polanski shifted the focus from students and immediately ruled out lowering affordable housing quotas and criticised Labour for doing otherwise.
He characterised the housing crisis as “ultimately an affordability crisis” where “50% of renters are only one paycheque away from losing their home”. He advocated for rent controls, affordable housing (briefly mentioning student housing), and a housing system that actually houses people.
Roar’s Editor-in-Chief Grace Holloway asked the Green leader to reflect on how removing tuition fees would be financed and whether concerns surrounding degrees losing value should be considered. Polanski did not provide a direct response to the latter but pointed to addressing the “inequality” in university finances, including the pay of senior campus figures such as the CEO, Chancellor, and lecturers.
When asked throughout the evening by the chair and Roar to reflect on specific economic policies, Polanski noted, “We’re not at that point in the election cycle, where we need to have every single costed policy.”
He later commented:
“I don’t see it as my role to be the Chancellor or to be the person who is saying here is every single [economic] policy.”
A student attendee asked about tackling transphobia and “re-centring” trans people in the political debate. Polanski emphasised “unconditional solidarity to trans people”, reflecting on his personal experience growing up in the LGBTQ+ community during the “ramifications of section 28”.
Early on in the evening, Polanski discussed “how dire things are in the country right now” for marginalised and working-class communities. All night, he balanced and apologised for discussing less cheerful topics, channelling his message of “feeling the hope”.
Roar‘s Comment Editor Deborah Solomon asked Polanski how their recently found momentum would be maintained until the 2029 general election. He discussed the importance of local council elections, community work and the contribution of Young Greens. He somewhat avoided defining exactly how momentum would be maintained, instead criticising various Labour government policies, stating that “every single Labour MP who supported those policies“ should be replaced by a Green MP, which he intends to do. This reply was met with heavy applause.
Polanski reiterated a connection between inequality and climate change: “Tackling the climate crisis is the opportunity to change everything and transform our society.” On a serious note regarding the threat of natural disasters to the UK: “We shouldn’t have to wait for the crisis to kick in and get worse before we turn this around.”
When asked by an attendee if Green’s were splintering the left vote and handing Reform “tangible” victories, he claimed: “The Labour government are not left wing.” He also expressed “delight” at being “relevant” enough to be criticised by Chancellor Rachel Reeves but called into question Labour’s “left-wing credentials”, as she used part of “her most significant speech of the year” to “criticise” a left-wing party.
He also targeted the Labour government in his comments on immigration:
“Farage says jump, they say how high, and they are handing this country on a plate to Nigel Farage. Because if people wanted ‘low-fat Nigel Farage’, then they might as well just vote for Nigel Farage.”
He defended the benefits and necessity of immigration with the “ageing population”, balanced with a “total humanitarian argument” for migration and said that as a Jewish man, he would not be in the UK if it wasn’t for generational history where [his] family were given a safe place of refuge”. He argued that this is part of the UK’s “DNA” and “history” and “makes our country great”.
Regarding Reform, Polanski referred to Farage as a “complete charlatan” and said, “There’s nothing patriotic about racism.” He also made a point of distinguishing between Reform leaders and potential Reform voters, describing the latter as “exactly who [he] wants to speak to”.
When questioned about Jeremy Corbyn and the Your Party conference, with “no shade”, Polanski responded that the Left already has a socialist party in the Greens and that it’s his job to “present an alternative”.
He received a warm welcome to the lecture hall and a flurry of students afterwards, despite noting once during the discussion, “You’re a very quiet audience, I keep wanting applause.” Following the subsequent applause, he joked that he’d now be characterised as “demand[ing] applause”.
Grace Holloway is Roar's editor-in-chief managing the editorial side of our operation as well. She has gained valuable experience from Bloomberg as well as writing for Breaking Media, the Non-League Paper and Politics UK.
