A new row has broken out in Westminster over which party truly represents workers. After a poll found Nigel Farage was the most popular leader among trade union members, Reform reached out to union general secretaries, asking them to formally affiliate with the party. Meanwhile, in an address to the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union this week, Green leader Zack Polanski railed against supermarkets for selling low-cost vegetables because, he said, that came at the cost of higher wages.
As the two-party system continues to erode, populist alternatives on the left and right are laying claim to being the workers’ party. However, The Spectator can reveal that Zack Polanski may perhaps need to get his own house in order first.
A report by Unite the Union into workplace culture within the Greens, covering the period between October 2025 and June this year, is damning about the party. It warns that ‘salaries remain considerably below market rates for comparable roles in the campaigning and political sectors’. The document also criticises a ‘continued lack of sufficient HR, operations and change-management capacity’ which has become a ‘structural problem’. Said problem, ‘delays work, weakens employment processes, leaves managers without enough support, and creates legal risk where consultation, documentation, or consistency of process is inadequate.’
Unite’s audit also includes a survey of party staff members conducted by the union. The research found that 47 per cent are struggling financially and 46 per cent believe they are underpaid. Among the workers, 30 per cent were unsure whether they wanted to stay in their job, while 14 per cent intended to leave.
It comes as new polling by YouGov today put Reform and Labour neck and neck on the question of who Brits – not just union members – think best represents working people today. Reform inches ahead on 16 per cent, followed by Labour on 15 per cent, the Greens on nine, the Tories on seven and the Lib Dems on five. The data will make depressing reading for Labour MPs. But many, of course, now believe that Andy Burnham is the man to turn such results around. In the meantime, Polanski clearly faces some tough questions – not just from right-wing critics, but from his own party.
The Green party has been contacted for comment.
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