Is Zack Polanski the UK’s Mamdani?

Image - Andre Benz, Seymon Borisov

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On November 5th, the Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani made history by winning the New York City mayoral race. He will be the first Muslim and person of South-Asian descent to hold the position, as well as the youngest in over a century.

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His win sparked hope for the left within America, as Democrats celebrated a push back against the Trump administration. Across the Atlantic, people in the UK voiced their support and content regarding Mamdani’s success. Social media was flooded with people from across the globe celebrating, labelling Mamdani as ‘my mayor’. In Britain, this led to others responding on social platform X: ‘to my fellow UK Zohran fans, we have our own, it’s Zack Polanski.’ Even Sky News reporters Sophy Ridge and Wilfred Frost asked Polanski himself ‘are you the British Mamdani?’ The hosts concluded that they had ‘been talking all morning about the authenticity of Mamdani, absolutely a comparison to be made there.’

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Mamdani and Polanski have taken the social media world by storm, utilising platforms to promote themselves and connect with younger audiences. Mamdani’s ads and posts on Instagram, TikTok and X accumulated over tens of millions of views, in all of which he was seen interviewing with or surrounded by ordinary people in the streets of New York City, demonstrating his accessibility to voters and relatable nature. Similar media interactions have been recorded with Zack Polanski, seen dancing with young supporters and even appearing onstage with the band Rizzle Kicks chanting ‘tax the rich’. He has also begun hosting a podcast titled ‘Bold Politics’.

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The two quickly gained support in their retrospective elections. After announcing his candidacy in October 2024, Mamdani was quickly able to gain credibility, despite facing a Democratic Party that at times appeared reluctant to provide support. Mamdani was able to take a surprise win in the June Democratic primary by 12 percentage points. He then went on to take 50.4% of the vote in the mayoral election, beating the independent candidate Cuomo by over 180,000 votes, more than the Republican candidate received. Similarly, Polanski beat his opponents, the duo Ellie Chowns and Adrian Ramsay, in the Green Party leadership election by a staggering 16,706 votes. Since his landslide win, the Greens have seen their membership figures increase drastically, now surpassing 150,000 members.

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Both Mamdani and Polanski have made clear their commitment to socialism. Mamdani is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, a group that are active within the Democratic Party, aiming to reform the party’s pro-capitalist stance from within. Mamdani chose a Martin Luther King Jr quote to describe his socialist viewpoint: ‘call it democracy or call it democratic socialism. There must be a better distribution of wealth for all of God's children in this country’. Meanwhile in the UK, it is thought that Polanski’s Greens could provide a more socialist, left-wing alternative to those disillusioned by Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. Polanski told Starmer ‘we are here to replace you.’

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Polanski has moulded his campaign around the slogan ‘tax wealth, not work’ appealing to both working- and middle-class voters who are often the hardest hit by tax rises. He has deliberately aimed his wealth tax at the top 1% of society, those with assets over £10 million, aiming to protect the average person from further economic challenges. Mamdani has the same 1% policy for New Yorkers - those earning over a million annually. Mamdani commented that ‘I don't think we should have billionaires’ and his campaign included a flat 2% tax on billionaires (the city’s current income tax rates are essentially the same whether you make $50,000 or $50 million).

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Their policies are deeply ingrained in socialist thought, focusing on tackling inequality and lowering the cost of living. The two have a similar focus on affordable housing for the average citizen, hoping for fairer rental opportunities. Both have promised to ‘crack down’ on bad landlords who exploit their tenants. Mamdani has aimed to freeze rent for 1 million people in controlled apartments in New York City. The Greens are pushing for more affordable housing that is supported by an increased investment in local services. Polanski and the Greens have voiced the need for an implementation of rent controls so that local authorities can aid those with unruly private landlords and to set up residential tenancy boards which would help to resolve disputes before the tribunal phase. The Green Party even discussed the abolition of private landlords at their recent conference, arguing that the ‘existence of Private Landlords adds no positive value to the economy or society, that the relationship between Landlord and Tenant is inherently and intrinsically extractive and exploitative’.

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Both politicians have expressed their support for Palestine, whilst also vowing to protect Jewish people. Mamdani has a long history of protest for Palestine, having co-founded the Students for Justice in Palestine group whilst studying at the Bowdoin College. He has remained committed to ending apartheid and Israel’s ‘relentless bombardment of Gaza’. Mamdani described Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack as a ‘war crime’ but asserted that the American government is complicit in supporting Israel’s ‘genocidal war’. Polanski has also openly described the events in Gaza as an ‘ongoing genocide’. He has encouraged people across the country to continue protesting and calling on the government to end arms sales to Israel. As a Jewish man himself, Polanski made clear that the growing anti-semitism made him ‘feel less safe’ and stressed the need for cross-community solidarity in the aftermath of the Manchester Synagogue attack on October 2, 2025.

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The support and success of both New York City’s Mamdani and the UK’s Polanski has uplifted many hoping to triumph over the politics of division. Both promise an optimistic future, promoting ‘a new era for New York City’ and encouraging the British people to ‘make hope normal again’.

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Are they the return of the left wing to rival the likes of Trump and Farage?