The Keys to Zack Polanski’s Success

What’s really going on beneath the surface of Polanksi’s rise in British politics?

Something unusual is happening in UK politics. In a time when many voters feel disillusioned, cynical, or simply tired, Zack Polanski has overseen one of the fastest surges in party membership and visibility the Green Party of England and Wales has ever seen. Party membership has overtaken the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, and they were recently polling as the most popular party for the under 50s.

This hasn’t happened by accident. In 2018 I wrote this post calling on progressive politicians to do exactly what we are seeing Zack Polanksi do now. It predicted the rise of the populist right if progressive politicians didn’t fill that vacuum. And it isn’t just about policies. To understand why Polanski’s leadership is landing so strongly, we need to look below the level of party platforms and headlines — at how people actually make meaning, form identity, and respond to leadership under pressure.

Beyond Policies to Meaning

When societies come under stress — rising inequality, cost-of-living pressure, climate anxiety, loss of trust — people don’t just ask: “What policy do I prefer?”. They ask deeper questions:

• Who is on my side?
• Do you see my struggle?
• Is this system still fair?
• Can anyone actually change things?

Most mainstream politics today speaks almost entirely to rational policy arguments or institutional competence. But large parts of the population are no longer living primarily in that mental space. Polanski intuitively understands this — and speaks to people where they actually are.

Why His Message Feels Different

Polanski doesn’t just talk about climate targets or economic tweaks. He consistently frames politics around:

• Lived experience (“people are struggling now”)
• Moral clarity (“this isn’t fair”)
• Clear responsibility (“some benefit while many pay the price”)
• Collective agency (“this can change if we act together”)

That combination activates emotion, identity, and hope — not just logic.

The Hidden Pattern: Speaking Across Multiple Human Needs

Without using academic language, Polanski’s leadership resonates across several deep human layers at once:

1. Belonging and Dignity

Many people feel invisible or dismissed by politics. His language restores dignity:

• You are not stupid.
• Your anger makes sense.
• You are not alone.

This reconnects people who feel culturally or economically sidelined.

2. Energy and Courage

Polanski isn’t cautious or technocratic. He names problems boldly and points to power structures clearly. That energises people who are tired of vague reassurance and endless “complexity” talk.

3. Fairness and Justice

His framing consistently returns to fairness:

• Who pays?
• Who benefits?
• Why are basic needs still insecure?

This resonates deeply with people who still believe rules should mean something — even if they no longer trust the system enforcing them.

4. Vision Beyond the Status Quo

Crucially, he doesn’t just criticise — he points toward a different future:

• Public wellbeing over private extraction
• Climate action linked to everyday affordability
• Collective solutions, not individual blame

That opens a sense of possibility, which has been largely absent from UK politics.

Why This Works Now

Timing matters. The UK is in a moment of systemic stress:

• Institutions are seen as distant or failing
• Economic growth hasn’t translated into security
• Cultural divisions are deepening
• Traditional politics feels hollow

In these conditions, leadership that only speaks in careful, managerial language feels disconnected — even when well-intentioned. Polanski’s approach works because it:

• Meets people emotionally without manipulating them
• Names conflict without glorifying chaos
• Offers direction without pretending there are easy answers

That’s rare.

The Risk — and the Opportunity

This kind of leadership isn’t without risks.

If bold rhetoric isn’t matched by credible delivery, trust can evaporate just as fast as it forms.
If anger isn’t channelled constructively, it can turn polarising.
If vision isn’t grounded, it can feel performative.

But when supported properly — with strong policy work, participatory processes, and real-world pilots — this style of leadership can rebuild democracy. That’s the real opportunity Polanski’s success points to.

A Wider Lesson for British Politics

Whether or not one agrees with the Green Party, Polanski’s rise reveals something important:

People aren’t disengaged because they don’t care.
They’re disengaged because politics stopped speaking to their full human reality.

Leadership that reconnects identity, fairness, agency, and future doesn’t just win attention — it restores participation. That’s the deeper reason Zack Polanski has become a political force so quickly.

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The Framework Behind This Analysis — Spiral Dynamics

The analysis above draws on a well-established body of research known as Spiral Dynamics. You don’t need to agree with it — or even adopt it — for it to be useful. Think of it as a map of how human priorities and worldviews tend to evolve under different life conditions.

What Is Spiral Dynamics?

Spiral Dynamics is a psychological and cultural framework developed from the work of psychologist Clare W. Graves, later expanded by researchers and practitioners such as Dr Don Beck working in leadership, politics, and social change.

Its central insight is simple but powerful:

Human beings don’t all see the world in the same way — and those differences follow recognizable patterns.

Rather than assuming everyone responds to the same arguments, Spiral Dynamics recognises that people prioritise different things depending on their life experience, security, and stress levels.

The Value Layers

Spiral Dynamics describes a series of value systems — not as “types of people,” but as ways of making sense of the world. The value systems evolve in us, each building on the previous one. Most individuals and societies express several of these at once.

Here’s a simplified overview:

🟣 Belonging & Identity

This layer centres on:

• Community
• Tradition
• Shared story
• “People like us”

It asks: “Where do I belong?”

🔴 Power & Protest

This layer emerges strongly when people feel unheard or blocked.
It brings:

• Anger
• Energy
• Boundary-breaking
• A challenge to authority

It asks: “Who is stopping us — and why?”

🔵 Order & Stability

People focused here care about:

• Fair rules
• Institutions
• Responsibility
• Social order

They ask: “What holds society together?”

🟠 Success & Progress

This layer prioritises:

• Achievement
• Innovation
• Economic growth
• Efficiency

It asks: “How do we improve and compete?”

🟢 Equality & Inclusion

Here the focus is on:

• Social justice
• Diversity
• Care
• Ethics

The question becomes: “Who is being excluded or harmed?”

There are later, more integrative layers as well — focused on systems thinking and long-term coherence — but the ones above are most visible in today’s politics.

Why This Matters for Politics

Most political systems assume that rational arguments and policy details are enough. Spiral Dynamics shows why this often fails. When people are stressed, insecure, or disconnected, they don’t primarily respond to spreadsheets or institutional logic. They respond to earlier value systems:

• Whether they feel seen
• Whether the system feels fair
• Whether anyone has the courage to name what’s wrong
• Whether a future feels possible

If political messaging only speaks to one value layer, it leaves others feeling ignored — which creates backlash, disengagement, or polarisation.

Applying This to Zack Polanski’s Rise

Polanski’s success makes sense through this lens because he doesn’t speak to just one layer. He:

• Offers a sense of shared purpose (belonging and agency – Purple in Spiral Dynamics)
• Acknowledges anger and frustration (protest energy – Red in Spiral Dynamics)
• Frames politics in terms of fairness and justice (ethical concern – Blue in Spiral Dynamics)
• Challenges concentrated power (freedom for the individual – Orange in Soiral Dynamics)
• Connects climate action to justice for all in everyday life (practical relevance – Green in Spiral Dynamics)

He is speaking to the psychological reality people are living in, and people recognise that.

Spiral Dynamics in Practice

In a time of rapid change and uncertainty, understanding how meaning itself is shifting becomes just as important as understanding policy. That’s why this framework is increasingly used in leadership, governance, and conflict work — and why it helps illuminate what’s happening in UK politics right now. The map is never the landscape, but it can help us find our way in often confusing times.

• Peter Merry worked closely with Dr Don Beck and is one of the world’s most experience practitioners of Spiral Dynamics.
• For more about Spiral Dynamics, see https://www.valuematch.net/spiral-dynamics/.