Zack Polanski on standing with trans people: "When they come for one of us, they come for all of us"
The Green Party leader was the only party leader to attend the London Trans+ Pride press launch. He spoke exclusively to Scene about the new EHRC guidance, teachers, and why Pride is still important.
Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, was the party leader to turn up at the London Trans+ Pride press launch on Friday, held at Joiners Heart, the new LGBTQIA+ space in Hackney run by Friends of Joiners Arms.
Asked why so many invited politicians had stayed away, Polanski gave a frank response. "First of all, I think that's pretty sad," he told Scene. "Some politicians are hateful, let's put them in that category, and don't want to stand for trans rights. Hopefully we haven't invited them. And some politicians are terrified. They know that billionaire-backed media, any time you talk about trans rights, will come for you and try and savage you."
His answer to that, he said, is simple. "My point is: do the right thing. This is about clarity, it's about leadership, it's about standing with people who are asking for us to stand with them. I think one of the reasons why I'm here is that, as a gay man, I understand when they come for one of us, they come for all of us. Ultimately we've got to stand together in solidarity."
"It's going to be important to rebel"
The launch came days after the updated EHRC Code of Practice was given the green light, requiring public service providers to follow the guidance from 5 August in order to operate lawfully. Asked what he would say to teachers and head teachers facing that deadline, Polanski said he was worried for them.
"The guidance is changing on 5 August and it absolutely doesn't need to. What I would say to them first of all is write to Andy Burnham, write to your MP. We've got this new Labour Prime Minister. This is an opportunity where, if the Labour Party wants to say it's progressive on LGBT rights, this is a moment to demonstrate it. I'm not interested in words. I've turned up today. I'm not even interested in who turns up. I'm interested in action, and the action has to be about challenging this guidance."
Staying within the law, he said, teachers should still be prepared to push back. "It's going to be important to rebel. It's going to be important to speak out and say what's unworkable in your school. Unworkable is one thing. More important than unworkable is the dignity of trans and non-binary students. As a teacher or a head teacher, it is your first duty to make sure you're protecting the safety and security of the people you're looking after."
Asked directly whether he expected the new Prime Minister to reverse course, Polanski was blunt. "My honest answer is no, I don't, because when you see the people that back him, I don't think he has any real interest in a progressive agenda." He tempered it slightly: "I don't want to be churlish, he's not had day one yet, maybe he's going to surprise me. And we've got to cling on to hope. If we challenge him, if we speak with one voice, there's always hope, because politicians listen to the loudest voice."
"We are all on the chopping block"
On the growing online noise that Pride is over-sexualised or no longer needed, Polanski called the argument ludicrous, and answered it with something personal.
"When I went on London Pride, I had the most amazing day holding my boyfriend's hand. Even as a politician who is visible and confident, otherwise I wouldn't be visible, it still meant so much to me to hold my boyfriend's hand. And I know how much it meant to other people. They tell me all the time." He went home that evening, he said, to a rant from Tommy Robinson. "That kind of ranting is becoming more and more normalised because of the hatred that is being allowed to creep into our spaces, particularly our media and political spaces."
The rights already won, he warned, are not safe. "They can be rolled back at any time. And they're being rolled back not just for trans people. Trans people are the canary in the coal mine. As they roll back their rights, we know they'll be rolling back rights for disabled people, migrants, gay people, women. We are all on the chopping block unless we all stand together. So Pride is incredibly important, and it's important even for those people who aren't LGBT, that you turn up and show solidarity."
Asked whether he would be at Trans Pride next weekend, Polanski said he would not be able to make it this year as he is booked at another festival, adding that he has attended in previous years and will be back next year.
London Trans+ Pride bigger and better than ever
At Friday's press launch, which was attended by high-profile supporters such as Zack Polanski, Romy and Zoë Garbett, as well as stars from Sex Education, Tip Toe and What It Feels Like For A Girl, and community leaders who were rallying support ahead of Saturday's historic march, the organisers of London Trans+ Pride announced that the march would go from Langham Place to Trafalgar Square for the first time in its history.
London Trans+ Pride organisers say they expect 100,000 people to fill Trafalgar Square on 25 July, under this year's theme, "Our Future, Our Fight". Last year's march, of more than 100,000 people, was the largest trans pride event in history.
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