Greens Defend Zack Polanski’s Urdu Video

The Greens have defended a by-election campaign video in which Zack Polanski speaks in Urdu after a cabinet member said it made him feel “uncomfortable”.

In a post on social media, the party leader introduced himself and encouraged voters to back him in Holborn and St Pancras on October 8.

But business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said all voters should be able to understand what candidates say.

He told Times Radio that his views “have hardened” on the need for campaign literature to be in English.

“I think it’s very important, when you think about cohesion, to make sure that everyone can participate in an election,” he said.

Tory shadow communities secretary Katie Lam went even further by describing Polanski’s video as “poisonous” and should be banned.

She said: “Attempting to appeal to group-based grievances by campaigning in foreign languages is poisonous.

“We must ban this practice for good. Politics in our country should be conducted in the language of public life.”

But a Green Party spokesman defended the video, telling HuffPost UK: “The Greens believe that democracy doesn’t discriminate by languages spoken. Many people are bilingual.

“Holborn and St Pancras is a true reflection of the diversity of London and of our country and we choose to embrace and celebrate that.

“If we want to speak to people who speak Urdu, it makes sense to speak to them in Urdu. We’re proud to reach voters in as many languages as possible”

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