Zack Polanski might not appear the most natural ally of Reform voters.
On migration – consistently one of the most important issues for Reform voters – the Green Party leader could not be further away from Nigel Farage.
Where the Reform leader believes migration has damaged Britain and advocates for “mass deportations”, Mr Polanski views it as a positive thing that has benefitted the country.
But in spite of that, Mr Polanski thinks he can win over Reform supporters.
It seems a tall order, given the country’s hardening attitude towards migration and the bursts of public anger that has been seen over the use of asylum hotels – most notably in Epping.
But the Green Party leader believes that what is really angering people – the cost of living crisis, wage stagnation, a lack of affordable housing – is not the fault of migration.
He is convinced he can flip the script by highlighting the plight of migrants and by directing the public’s anger elsewhere – at billionaires, large corporations and the establishment.
That is what his trip to Calais was all about.
Last week, Sky News joined Mr Polanski in the French town, once home to the “Jungle” refugee camp before it was demolished in 2016, to tackle the “misinformation” he believes surrounds the small boats crisis.
“I think when people have a reality of it, I think the majority of people are actually compassionate,” he tells me. “They just want to make sure that our system is fair and it’s transparent.”
Mr Polanski has now surpassed 100 days as Green Party leader – the point at which the party’s fortunes began to change.
Since his election in September, Mr Polanski, a former member of the Liberal Democrats, has taken the Greens in a different direction.
Once known as the party of the environment, the Greens now talk heavily about social and cultural issues that can be divisive – whether that be migration, transgender rights or even the “eco-populism” that some in his own party fear may alienate…
