Green leader Zack Polanski and the party’s Gorton and Denton by-election candidate Hannah Spencer broke down in tears as they talked about her dogs in a bizarre campaign podcast.
They took part in a weepy discussion about Ms Spencer’s coterie of four greyhounds in the latest edition of Mr Polanski’s Bold Politics podcast.
Talking about her first pooch, Graham, Ms Spencer, a plumber and local councillor welled up as she said he ‘taught me a lot about acceptance;’ at a tough time in her life.
She went on to say: ‘There is a bit of Graham in all of us, we just want to be accepted and we just want to be happy and we just want to be safe.’
And later, in response to her talking about how much her greyhounds mean to her, Mr Polanski then broke down, saying: ‘I think I’m crying for the greyhounds and I’m also crying to get you into parliament with that level of determination is exactly what this country needs, not just for greyhounds but for everyone.’
Mr Polanski promoted the podcast on X by posting a clip and saying they were ‘real people who are unafraid to just be themselves for an hour because they know they don’t have to protect any vested interests’.
However, some of those who watched the clip took a different view. One sarcastically wrote: ‘These are exactly the sort of people you want to take on tough international negotiations.’
And another said: ‘I love dogs. I’ve cried when I’ve lost them, cats too.
‘But the person we put in charge to be strong in the face of Russia, China, America .. is not some soppy **** that weeps over the memory of someone else’s dog for ****sake.’
They took part in a weepy discussion about Ms Spencer’s coterie of four greyhounds in the latest edition of Mr Polanski’s Bold Politics podcast.
Mr Polanski promoted the podcast on X by posting a clip and saying they were ‘real people who are unafraid to just be themselves for an hour because they know they don’t have to protect any vested interests’.
However, some of those who watched the clip took a different view
A poll this week found that fewer than a third of Green Party voters would want ‘eco-populist’ Mr Polanski to be prime minister.
More than four in 10 of those polled by More in Common said they did not want any main party leader to have power in No10.
The race to win Gorton and Denton in a by-election on February 26 is a three-way struggle between Labour, the Greens and Reform.
Earlier this week Mr Polanski urged voters in the Greater Manchester seat to choose ‘hope’ over ‘hate’ in a by-election which he says is a race between the Greens and Reform.
Labour has also pitched itself as the anti-Reform candidate, with party sources trying to put a positive spin on the prospects of holding on to a seat they won with a majority of 13,000 in 2024.
One told the Daily Mail No10 aides were doing ‘daily’ calls with the ‘ground team’.
The source insisted the Mandelson issues did not seem to be coming up strongly on the doorstep, although they acknowledged it had cut through with the public more widely.
‘It’s good vibes at the moment,’ they added.
Another Labour insider pointed to a poll suggesting Sir Keir’s personal ratings had improved over the past month – albeit they are still dire.
A poll this week found that fewer than a third of Green Party voters would want ‘eco-populist’ Mr Polanski to be prime minister.
‘I think many people – not just the parliamentary party – may have looked over the precipice and not liked what they saw,’ they said.
But a trade union leader has said Sir Keir Starmer should stand down if Labour comes third, as she backed Angela Rayner to replace him.
Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), is the first leader of one of Labour’s affiliated unions to publicly back an alternative to Sir Keir as party leader.
She warned that a leadership challenge could come as soon as the end of the February, after a key by-election in which Labour risks falling behind Reform UK and the Greens.
Ms Eslamdoust told the Daily Telegraph: ‘If we were to come third, I think Keir’s time will be up.’
Calling for a ‘widespread range’ of candidates in any leadership contest, she said: ‘I’d like for a woman to lead the Labour Party.’