Zack Polanski admits not voting in local elections despite telling candidate: 'You've got my vote.'

By CLAIRE ELLICOTT, WHITEHALL EDITOR Published: 19:13, 14 May 2026 | Updated: 19:13, 14 May 2026 Zack Polanski has admitted he didn’t vote in last week’s local elections - despite claims he had voted by post. The Green leader was campaigning in Wales on polling day but his spokesman indicated he’d cast a postal vote in Hackney the day before. He even told the London borough’s mayoral candidate in an online post: ‘You have my vote.’ But following questions about the surprising move, he admitted to the Times that he had not registered to vote in the elections because he feared for his safety. It comes after he admitted he had not paid council tax during the three years he lived on a houseboat. He is believed to have moved to rented accommodation earlier this year but appears not to have registered to vote at his new address. Mr Polanski faced questions about whether he had voted because it is highly unusual for a party leader not to be pictured voting on election day - usually in a place where they are expected to do well. He publicly pledged his support to Zoe Garbett, the Green candidate who went on to become Hackney mayor, telling her ‘you have my vote’ in a campaign video released on May 3. Zack Polanski admits not voting in local elections despite telling candidate: 'You've got my vote.'  A spokesman told the paper: ‘One consequence of the heightened intrusion and safety risk he faces was that Zack did not register to vote in the most recent local elections.’ The party said he had faced ‘extreme and distressing press intrusion’ since becoming leader, including ‘antisemitic cartoons’ and journalists ‘doorstepping family members’. It said he and was now in discussions with police and local authorities about registering anonymously. In fact, any resident can request to have their name withheld from the accessible electoral register so would not be able to be found unless their address was known. An unredacted version is still available but is not searchable in the same way. Mr Polanski’s admission is the latest in a series of episodes in which he has had to admit he has not told the truth. He previously denied that a houseboat had been his main residence for three years before later admitting it. He said he was now seeking ‘clarity’ over whether council tax was owed. He also falsely claimed that he worked at the Ministry of Justice while campaigning for elected office. It comes after he gave an interview in which he claimed he could use the power of his mind to increase women’s breast sizes. Kevin Hollinrake, Chairman of the Conservative Party, said: ‘Even Zack Polanski can’t bring himself to vote for the Green Party. ‘This is a bizarre failure and adds to a long list of half truths and blatant lies from Zack Polanski.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.