What has been reported about Zack Polanski’s transition from acting and hypnotherapy into active politics?
Executive summary
Reporting shows Zack Polanski moved from a varied early career in immersive theatre, teaching and hypnotherapy into elected politics via the Liberal Democrats before becoming a Green Party figure and later leader, a trajectory framed by both colourful past work (including a widely publicised hypnotherapy episode) and a deliberate political rebranding as an “eco‑populist” communicator [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. From stage to practice: the pre‑political résumé journalists catalogue
Profiles consistently note Polanski’s work as an immersive theatre actor with DifferenceENGINE, teaching at drama and circus schools, singing with the London International Gospel Choir and running a hypnotherapy practice on Harley Street — a patchwork background reporters use to explain his media skills and outsider image [1] [5] [2] [6].
2. The Sun episode and its echo: a past controversy that followed him into politics
Multiple outlets recount a 2013 episode in which a Sun journalist underwent a hypnotherapy session Polanski ran that purportedly involved visualisation to increase breast size; that piece resurfaced during his rise, prompting apologies from Polanski and his explanation that the work pre‑dated political ambitions and was misrepresented [7] [8] [4].
3. How Polanski describes the shift: “politics was never part of the plan”
Polanski’s own writings and interviews frame his route as accidental: he has written that politics “was never part of the plan,” that he worked as a hypnotherapist while performing in theatres and only later entered public life, presenting the move as an evolution rather than a calculated pivot [2].
4. A party‑switch and ascent: Lib Dem beginnings to Green leadership ambitions
Reporting traces his early electoral efforts for the Liberal Democrats — standing for council and assembly seats in the mid‑2010s — before he migrated to Green politics, rising to deputy leader in 2022 and then winning the Green leadership with a platform he brands “eco‑populism,” aiming to tie cost‑of‑living concerns to climate action [3] [9] [4].
5. Style and strategy: theatrical skills turned political assets, say supporters
Commentators and allies credit his theatrical background and media ease for energising grassroots activists and giving the Greens a sharper storytelling edge; outlets record praise for his fluency on camera and his intent to broaden the party’s appeal beyond traditional environmental constituencies [7] [10] [5].
6. Critics and internal tensions: polarising language and establishment pushback
Conversely, long‑standing party figures and opponents warn his “eco‑populist” pitch and combative rhetoric can be polarising; rivals within the Greens accused his campaign of appealing to a narrow slice of voters and raised concerns about an activist‑driven takeover, while Conservatives publicly derided some of his chairing choices as identity‑politics posturing [10] [9] [7].
7. Activism, arrests and radical policy signals that completed the transition narrative
Reporting emphasizes that his move into politics was accompanied by direct activism — including arrests with Extinction Rebellion — and policy positions such as wealth redistribution, public ownership and strong stances on foreign policy that mark a shift from therapeutic practice to confrontational public politics [7] [11] [12].
8. What remains contested or underreported
While coverage documents the hypnotherapy episode, his apology and his pre‑political résumé, available sources do not provide exhaustive independent verification of every claim from his hypnotherapy practice or of how much any single past incident affected voter attitudes; reporting therefore presents both his explanation and critics’ concerns without definitive causal conclusions [8] [4].