LONDON: British Green Party leader Zack Polanski said he hopes to replicate the success of New York mayor Zohran Mamdani as he pledged to bring high streets back to life on a campaign visit ahead of May's local elections.
The politician joined the party's newest Member of Parliament Hannah Spencer, who won the Gorton and Denton by-election in February, in Levenshulme, Manchester.
On Wednesday, The Times daily reported that Polanski hoped to revamp his social media strategy after meeting with the team behind Mamdani, the American city's democratic socialist mayor.
Polanski said: "It was a real privilege to meet with members of his team, and this has happened various times, hear how they were so successful.
"I think the key point I hear over and over again though and agree with entirely is that it's less about the tactics, sure his social media is phenomenal, his method of communication is phenomenal, but more than anything it was about the message.
"It was about the message of communities coming together, challenging the wealth and power of multimillionaires and billionaires.
"It was about communities finding their voice, communities being supported by politicians.
"That's what Zohran's done to make New York a more affordable city and it's what I intend to do in this country to make sure it's a country that everyone can afford to live in."
Asked if he hoped to be the UK's answer to Mamdani, Polanski said: "I want to make sure that I'm my own person.
"Zohran Mamdani is pretty incredible and one of the reasons I think that is because he's authentic, so I think it's important that all of us just do what we can do."
Ahead of the local elections on May 7, the party leader announced a plan to improve Britain's high streets which would see affordable leases given to small businesses, consultation with communities and arts and culture organisations becoming involved with empty shops.
Polanski and Spencer walked along the high street, popping in to a fruit and vegetable shop and a photography store where they spoke to business owners and posed for pictures.
The party leader said he was "really confident"about the elections.
He added: "I'm not complacent about a single vote.
"That's why between now and in the next two weeks I'm going to make sure I and all of our campaigners across the country are on doorsteps having conversations.
"I think the key context is this, when I ran to be leader of the Green Party, the Green Party had just over 50,000 members, we've now got over 225,000 members. "It's a huge upsurge. We've also tripled our poll ratings and in many polls are above the Labour government in first or second place. I think this is a real moment where the Green Party can really demonstrate this with success at the ballot box." — dpa
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
