Green Party leader Zack Polanski has just finished a round of quickfire questions on BBC local radio stations. Here’s what he said:

• Polanski was keen to highlight that since his leadership victory last month, party membership is up by a third to 80,000 members
• Across his various interviews, Polanski reiterates that his "relentless focus" is on lowering people's bills. He proposes a 1% tax on the assets of multi-millionaires and billionaires which he says would help tackle the "huge divide between the richest and the poorest"
• Asked about housing, Polanski says affordable housing is needed, but that it should be built on brownfield land
• On immigration, he says he has a more "humanitarian" approach to migrants who he says make "huge contributions" to society. He adds that there is a sense the country is breaking at the seams, but none of the issues the UK is facing are due to migration, he says, but instead due to inequality
• Returning again to the topic of rising bills, Polanski says it is "outrageous" that water bills are going up while sewage is being released into waterways. He calls for public services including water companies to be renationalised

That wraps up our live coverage, thanks for joining us.

Green Party leader takes aim at Reform and Faragepublished at 09:38 BST

09:38 BST

John Adderley
Politics reporter

Zack Polanski isn’t quite as scathing of Nigel Farage as other party leaders have been. He says the Greens could learn something from the success of Reform UK.

He tells BBC Hereford and Worcester that Nigel Farage “connects with people’s fears very, very well”.

But that’s where the favourable comments come to an end. Polanski says that far too often Farage’s politics will make things worse.

He says Reform has “rocketed through the polls with the politics of hate and division".

He senses an opportunity here saying: “Why can’t the Green Party rocket through the polls with the politics of hope and community?”

Lee Bottomley
Reporter

Image source, BBC Hereford and Worcester

“Spot on, we don't get as much media time as we should,” Zack Polanski tells BBC Hereford and Worcester’s Tammy Gooding.

He was responding to a pre-recorded point from a listener, who says they have nearly as many MPs as Reform, but it’s Nigel Farage who gets the exposure.

“Reform has rocketed through the polls with politics of hate and division, why can’t the Green Party rocket through the polls with politics of hope and community?" he says.

Polanski says his relationship with North Herefordshire Green MP Ellie Chowns – who he beat to the party leadership - is “beyond wonderful, which I know will seem a bit bizarre to people, we were already friends, can’t wait to hit dancefloor with her at tomorrow night’s conference”.

Ewan Murrie
Politics reporter, Westminster

Lowering bills and protecting nature are not in conflict, Zack Polanski tells BBC Hereford and Worcester.

The Green Party leader says it's "outrageous" that water bills are going up while sewage is being released into waterways.

According to him, the solution lies in putting "public services back into public hands" – or in other words, renationalisation.

But Labour has already ruled out such a plan for water as being too costly to taxpayers.

It's unclear how Zack Polanski would make the sums add up.

Ewan Murrie
Politics reporter, Westminster

There’s arguably friction between Zack Polanski’s housebuilding ambitions and his party’s longstanding commitment to protecting nature.

He tried to play down the tension during his BBC Solent interview, by stressing that the answer must lie in building homes on brownfield sites.

But preparing brownfield sites can often be costly for builders, raising questions about whether relying exclusively on these developments would suffice.

He’s accusing Labour of siding with private developers who he claims are making “record profits” by building on green fields at the expense of communities and nature.

John Adderley
Politics reporter

Zack Polanski is clear he dislikes the way immigration is talked about by most of the other parties.

He says he has a more “humanitarian, dignified approach” to migrants, pointing out they make a huge contribution to society.

He says there are 150,000 vacancies in the health service, and while it’s important to train and recruit staff from this country, migrants make a huge contribution which should be valued.

Speaking on BBC Radio Solent, Polanski says the UK could stop small boats today by offering safe and legal routes for people crossing the Channel.

He says it’s an example of British values to show compassion, to show care.

He says there’s a sense the country is breaking at the seams but none of the issues the UK is facing are due to migration.

That brought him back to his theme of tackling inequality - challenging “the super rich” rather than blaming the migrants.

Polanski makes party's focus huge divide he sees between richest and poorestpublished at 08:58 BST

08:58 BST

John Adderley
Politics reporter

Zack Polanski has repeatedly spoken about the need to tackle inequality in society. He’s talked of taking the “fight” to Labour, particularly on inequality.

He says that doesn’t mean tackling climate change isn’t important, but speaking on BBC Radio Solent he says his number one focus right now is on lowering people's bills.

Zack Polanski is making the Green Party’s focus about the huge divide he sees between the richest and the poorest. He says: “We need to grab the inequality agenda.”

“Since the pandemic began, billionaire wealth has doubled. Poor people and working class communities in particular are getting poorer and poorer.”

In his sights are the richest people in our society.

He adds “People are making inordinate amounts of wealth while they still sleep.”

What he's proposing is a 1% tax on multi-millionaires and billionaires.

Ewan Murrie
Politics reporter, Westminster

Zack Polanski’s opening remarks on BBC Radio Solent were quite remarkable to listen to from a Green Party leader.

He seemed to place more immediate importance on the cost of living crisis ahead of tackling climate change, stressing that his “number one focus right now” is on lowering bills.

“I understand if you can’t put food on the table... the climate crisis feels like a distant threat,” he told listeners.

Polanski is clearly keen to broaden his appeal to as many disaffected Labour voters as possible.

Curtis Lancaster
BBC South

Turning now to BBC Radio Solent, Polanski tells Alun Newman it’s “really important to protect green belt land”.

He admits more housing is needed but said they should be built on brownfield land.

He adds that there is a need for more “affordable housing” and says pointing the finger at people who want to protect our nature and wildlife needs to stop.

As a reminder, a brownfield site is an old industrial or inner-city site that is cleared for a new building development.

Image source, BBC Radio Solent

Curtis Lancaster
BBC South

"My number one focus and my relentless focus is on lowering people’s bills,” Zack Polanski tells Steve Harris on BBC Radio Solent.

“People in this country are tired and exhausted” by the cost of living, he says.

He proposes a 1% tax on the assets of multi-millionaires and billionaires.

Ewan Murrie
Politics reporter, Westminster

For Zack Polanski, this radio round is all about trying to project confidence ahead of the Green Party Conference.

He told me that he's keen to stress that, since his landslide victory in the leadership election last month, party membership is up by a third to 80,000.

Speaking on BBC Solent, he boasted that these numbers show his party already has "clout", while promising to use his platform to hold ministers to account on issues like the cost of living.

But despite the bravado, the stakes tomorrow are high indeed - his speech will help to determine how effectively he can pitch his party as a viable alternative to disaffected Labour voters.

The first of the BBC local radio rounds for Green Party leader Zack Polanski has kicked off - first up, he's on BBC Solent.

We'll bring you text updates here, and you can watch live above.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski will shortly be speaking on BBC Solent for the first in a series of quickfire interviews on local BBC radio stations over the next hour.

You can follow along by tapping the watch live button at the top of this page.

Image source, Getty Images

The new leader of the Green Party of England and Wales has had an unconventional path to politics, previously working as an actor, hypnotherapist and mental health counsellor.

Zack Polanski, 42, stormed to victory in the Green Party leadership election last month on a platform promising bold communication and "eco-populism".

A London Assembly member, he beat Green MPs Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns - who were standing on a joint ticket - by 20,411 votes to 3,705.

He says his aim is to get "at least 30 MPs at the next election" - and has ruled out a coalition with Keir Starmer's Labour Party.

Polanski’s first foray into politics was joining the Liberal Democrats, a party he now criticises as being insufficiently left-wing.

He joined the Greens in 2017, working as a local party chairman, before getting elected to City Hall in 2021 and becoming the party's deputy leader in 2022.

The local radio round has been a pre-conference tradition for many years, and representatives of all of Westminster's main parties are being given a similar opportunity.

Last month we heard from Richard Tice ahead of Reform UK’s annual gathering in Birmingham, Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey before his party’s conference in Bournemouth and, most recently, Labour’s Housing Secretary Steve Reed before his party headed to Liverpool.

Today, it’s the Green Party's turn, followed by the Conservatives who we're due to hear from later. Stay tuned.

Image source, Getty Images

Green Party leader Zack Polanski will shortly face a series of back-to-back interviews on BBC local radio stations.

It's a chance to hear about the party's policies ahead of its annual conference, taking place in Bournemouth this weekend.

The first radio station Polanski is due to speak to is BBC Solent, shortly after 08:00 BST, followed by BBC Hereford & Worcester.

Stay with us for live updates throughout or, to follow along yourself, tap the watch live button at the top of this page.