Online ads target Zack Polanski’s drugs stance as Labour aims to sideline Greens and consolidate anti-Reform vote
Labour has launched an attack on the Green party for wanting to legalise drugs, as the parties vie to be seen as the main leftwing contender against Reform UK in the Gorton and Denton byelection.
The party is pursuing a strategy of trying to sideline Zack Polanski’s party after warnings Labour was too slow to pitch itself as the “Stop Reform” party in Caerphilly, which was won by Plaid Cymru.
With the contest looming in late February, Keir Starmer is facing a huge battle to retain Gorton and Denton, despite Labour’s 13,000 majority, after blocking the popular Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, from running as its candidate. The Greens and Reform believe they have a chance of taking the seat.
Labour launched targeted online adverts in the area this week, aiming to highlight Polanski’s policy, which the party describes as wanting to “legalise all drugs”, with a Labour spokesperson branding this “extreme and dangerous”. The party has not yet picked its own candidate.
