Records show all four of Zack Polanski’s grandparents were born in England before the war
Family records cited in the article indicate that all four of Green Party leader Zack Polanski’s grandparents were born in England before the Second World War, prompting questions about his account of ancestors fleeing the Nazis. The issue matters because Polanski has repeatedly used his family’s history of persecution and migration to explain his commitment to defending migrants.
In a 2025 conference speech and later interviews, Polanski described ancestors moving from Latvia to Ukraine and Poland before fleeing Nazi persecution and reaching England. The article says public records place some earlier relatives from Latvia and Russia in Britain by the late 19th or early 20th century; his parents were born in Manchester, while his grandparents were born in Manchester, Cumbria and Lancashire between 1916 and 1934. The Green Party declined to clarify which relatives Polanski meant, saying the scrutiny was an attempt to discredit him; the article notes that wider family members may have been persecuted in the Holocaust.
- Records place all four of Polanski’s grandparents in Britain before the war.
- His account describes ancestors fleeing pogroms and the Nazis.
- The Green Party declined to clarify which relatives he meant.
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Zack Polanski is the leader of the Green Party. He has frequently spoken about his family's history of fleeing Nazi persecution during the Second World War, using these experiences in speeches and interviews to explain his commitment to supporting migrants and asylum seekers.
In public statements, Polanski has described how his ancestors moved from Latvia to Ukraine and Poland before fleeing Nazi persecution and eventually settling in England. However, records now show his grandparents were all born in England between 1916 and 1934, with his parents born in Manchester, which differs from the migration narrative he has presented.
Polanski's advocacy for migrants and his policy positions have been closely tied to his family's experience of persecution and displacement. Questions about the accuracy of his family history narrative therefore invite scrutiny of the basis for his stated commitments. The Green Party has declined to clarify the matter, stating that the scrutiny represents an attempt to discredit him.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Polanski said his family ‘fled the Nazis’. But all four of his grandparents were born in Britain – long before the war”.