Senior figures within the Green Party are calling for candidate Zack Polanski to withdraw from the upcoming Makerfield by-election. This strategic move is intended to ensure a Labour Party victory and leverage Andy Burnham's support for voting reform.

A 3-percentage-point gap between Labour and Reform UK

The urgency of the Green Party's internal debate is underscored by a recent Survation poll, which describes the Makerfield race as a "knife-edge" contest. According to the report, the Labour Party currently leads with 43 percent of the vote, while Nigel Farage’s Reform UK candidate, Robert Kenyon, follows closely at 40 percent.

Other parties are trailing significantly in the polling data.. Restore Britain, a party established by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, is expected to secure roughly 7 percent, while the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party are projected at 4 percent and 3 percent, respectively. The Conservatives currently sit at the bottom of the pack with 2 percent support.

Andy Burnham's pledge for proportional representation

The push for Zack Polanski to step aside is driven by a joint statement from former Green co-leader Jonathan Bartley and author Rupert Read. These senior members argue that the Greens should not obstruct Andy Burnham, the former Greater Manchester Mayor, if he commits to championing proportional representation in the next Labour manifesto. As the report says, the signatories believe that a shift away from the first-past-the-post system would provide smaller parties with a more accurate voice in Parliament.

Andy Burnham has advocated for a system that prioritizes "place before party" and rewards problem-solving over political point-scoring. For the Green Party, supporting this specific agenda represents a strategic trade-off: sacrificing a symbolic presence in a contest they view as unwinnable in exchange for a fundamental overhaul of UK democracy.

The fallout from Chris Kennedy's 12-hour candidacy

The Green Party's strategy in Makerfield has already been marred by instability. Before the current focus on Zack Polanski,the party faced a public relations crisis when candidate Chris Kennedy resigned just twelve hours after his nomination. Kennedy's departure followed controversy surrounding an Instagram video in which he characterized two arson arrests as a "false flag" operation.

This volatility suggests a campaign struggling to find its footing in a constituency increasingly polarized between the left and the populist right. The resignation of Chris Kennedy has left the Green Party in a precarious position, making the argument for a tactical withdrawal more appealing to party elders who wish to avoid further embarrassment .

Whether Robert Kenyon can truly stop Andy Burnham

The by-election has evolved into a high-stakes proxy battle for national leadership . Nigel Farage has framed the contest as a "two-horse race," claiming that Robert Kenyon is the only candidate capable of blocking Andy Burnham's return to the Commons. Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has explicitly ruled out any cooperation with Reform UK, leaving the right-wing vote fragmented.

Despite the strategic calculations, several critical questions remain. It is unclear if Zack Polanski will actually heed the calls from Jonathan Bartley and Rupert Read to step down,or if the Green Party grassroots will rebel against the leadership's tactical voting approach. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that a Labour victory would result in a concrete commitment to proportional representation, leaving the Greens to wonder if they are trading a tangible—albeit small—presence for a vague political promise.