A cold rain fell over Hackney, a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in northeast London, on Saturday, November 29. Undeterred, Jasmine O’Connor and Abi Kingston, leaflets and a cup of coffee in hand, were ready for their morning canvassing session. Both are stalwarts of the local branch of Britain’s Green Party, and were there “first and foremost to listen to residents and hear about their everyday concerns,” explained O’Connor. She has been a party member for about 10 years. In the eyes of Alec (who declined to give his last name), who joined her for the morning and has only been with the Greens for two weeks, she is a veteran.

“I had never been a member of a political party before. I was inspired by the recent change in leadership,” said Alec, a thirty-something landscape gardener who, like tens of thousands of Britons, has been won over by Zack Polanski, the Green Party’s new leader. Polanski has been dubbed the “British Mamdani” by the media – in reference to Zohran Mamdani, mayor-elect of New York City – for his ease in front of cameras, mastery of social media and unapologetic populism.

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