‘My experience is that most people want to talk about our plans right now’
Green Party leader Zack Polanski(Image: Getty Images)
Green Party leader Zack Polanski says voters want to focus on his party’s “plans now” rather than comments he reportedly made when he was a hypnotherapist 13 years ago.
Before entering politics, the Green Party leader worked as a hypnotherapist and offered a session in 2013 to enlarge a newspaper reporter’s cup size.
A 2013 article in The Sun featured the politician offering a reporter hypnosis to increase her bust. The reporter claims the session, at Mr Polanski’s Harley Street consulting room, had the desired effect.
Mr Polanski had said he was misrepresented and never believed it was possible, claiming he spoke to the BBC the day after the article was published to apologise. However, this week, the BBC said it cannot find evidence of that interview, but that six days later the-now politician spoke to Radio Humberside to stand by the theory saying “the evidence is growing”.
On a visit to Cardiff ahead of the Senedd elections, the Green Party of England and Wales leader was asked about the continuing story.
When questioned about whether he is a serious leader, and whether voters can trust what he says, Mr Polanski told WalesOnline on Saturday: “I’ve apologised repeatedly for the comments 13 years ago and I stand by that. I think people recognise that people are more than one mistake.”
Asked to clarify what happened and when he apologised, he said: “A Sun journalist suggested this story, it was their story. It was 13 years ago, so I don’t know exactly when I apologised.
“I do know, though, that as recently as 2019, which was still seven years ago, I did another apology and I am happy to apologise whenever.
“But genuinely my experience is that most people want to talk about our plans right now to reduce people’s bills, protect the National Health Service and rebuild our public services.”
The Green Party say their membership in Wales has now passed 8,000.
Mr Polanski was visiting the Welsh capital on Saturday to support campaigners ahead of the Senedd election in May. Currently the Greens have no seats in Cardiff Bay but recent polls suggest they could take upward of five seats in the election on May 7. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.
In his acceptance speech on the day he became party leader in September 2025, Mr Polanski made clear his hopes for the Senedd. “We are on the very cusp of winning our first ever Green seats on the Senedd,” he said.
Asked by WalesOnline on Saturday how many seats he would consider to be a success, Mr Polanski said: “Winning one seat would be successful because we’ve never had Green representation in the Senedd before, but I’m not under ambitious.
“In fact polling is showing over and over again that we are going to win between five and 11 seats, but ultimately the only poll that matters is the poll on May 7, so we are going to be out there campaigning and fighting for every single last vote right across Wales.”
Detailing what he believes are the biggest issues facing Wales right now, he cited his party’s calls for an immediate, temporary freeze on rent rises to assist tenants during the cost of living.
He said: “I think the cost of living is undoubtedly the biggest issue, particularly for renters where they are facing spiralling bills, damp and mouldy homes, and far too often it feels like the settlement just doesn’t feel fair.
“So bringing in the rent freeze feels like a huge priority. I would say more widely, the fact that 40% of people’s water bills are just paying off the debt when they are also just pumping sewage into the water, so making sure that we are bringing water into special administrations, so Wales water can be back into public ownership.”
In October, during an interview with Abolish Westminster, Mr Polanski backed Welsh Independence, a move long supported by the leader of the Wales Green Party, Anthony Slaughter.
When asked how the Greens appeal to voters who feel politically homeless in the lead up to the Senedd election, including left wing voters who do not support Welsh Independence, he said: “It’s looking increasingly likely that those first few seats will go to Plaid representatives and sadly I believe – because I think it would be awful for Wales – there will be some Reform representatives.
“So those fifth and sixth seats are really going to be a fight between the Reform Party and the Green Party. So when people are voting in this election, if they want to make sure they have a party that stands for people and the planet, that wants to lower people’s bills, make sure that we are bringing water companies back into public ownership and indeed bring in a rent freeze, then that’s a vote for the Green Party.”
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