Green party leader Zack Polanski cleared by ethics inquiry as Hackney link draws fresh scrutiny
The leader of the Green party of England and Wales, Zack Polanski — who lives in Hackney with Cllr Alastair Binnie-Lubbock, the borough’s Green councillor for Hackney Downs — has been cleared by an ethics inquiry into complaints that he did not pay council tax while living on a houseboat in east London.
A report by the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) monitoring officer found that the circumstances of Polanski’s living arrangements were beyond the scope of the inquiry, and that he had therefore not breached the code of conduct for London Assembly members.
The complaints were brought by the chair of the Labour party Anna Turley and the Conservative London Assembly Member Neil Garratt.
They had alleged that Polanski breached the ethics code by failing to pay council tax while living on a houseboat in east London from 2022.
A shifting account
Polanski had previously apologised for what he called an “unintentional mistake”. The Green leader had initially said he was not living at the marina full-time but at another address as a lodger, before it emerged that he had in fact occupied the boat for a couple of years before moving into a house.
In evidence to the monitoring officer, he disclosed that it had still not been established whether any council tax was in fact due on the boat — the site of which, he said, fell on the border of two local authorities. Whether tax is owed remains a separate matter for the local councils involved. Waltham Forest Council was earlier reported to have launched its own investigation.
Five years as a property guardian
Polanski’s witness statement also gave a fuller account of his housing history. He said he had lived for five years as a property guardian, occupying an otherwise vacant building under licence in exchange for modest fees.
“This was one of the few affordable housing options available to me in London during a period marked by economic uncertainty, austerity measures and significant cost-of-living pressures,” he said.
“Under those property guardianship arrangements, I paid a licence fee to the relevant provider and, as was my understanding and experience throughout that period, utilities and council tax liabilities were managed and covered through those arrangements. Whilst unconventional, this became my normal experience of housing administration and associated household outgoings.”
When he moved to a narrowboat in August 2022, he wrote, he believed that council tax was included in the mooring fees, “given the nature of the arrangement, my previous experience of property guardian accommodation”.
“I readily acknowledge that I did not undertake further enquiries at the time regarding the specific council tax implications of living on a narrowboat. This is why I have already unreservedly apologised for that unintentional mistake.”
‘No intention to evade’
Polanski told the inquiry he had never had any intention to “evade council tax, avoid legal obligations or obtain any improper financial advantage”, and that it remained unclear whether he had in fact failed to pay the proper tax.
“Any failure to appreciate the position arose solely from a misunderstanding of what was required in relation to an unusual and unconventional living arrangement,” he wrote.
He also stressed his personal experience of financial hardship and housing insecurity, adding: “Having lived through periods of economic difficulty on a limited income, I understand first-hand the challenges faced by many Londoners. My previous living arrangements reflected those circumstances rather than any attempt to avoid financial obligations.
“Whilst I accept that greater care could have been taken in understanding the practical implications of my unconventional housing arrangements, I strongly refute suggestions that my honesty or integrity should be called into question.”
‘Politically motivated’
Polanski also raised concerns in his statement that the complaints against him were politically motivated, suggesting they had been promoted under the guise of public interest while appearing to be aimed at advantaging his opponents.
In a statement to the Citizen, a Green party spokesperson said: “The monitoring officer for the Greater London Authority has conducted an independent inquiry into the complaints made against Mr Polanski and decided to take no further action. We therefore consider this matter closed.”
Garratt, the Conservative London Assembly member said Polanski’s actions had shown a “cavalier attitude” to establishing whether tax was due.
A Hackney houseshare
After the houseboat row broke in May, attention turned to Polanski’s current living arrangements. The Green leader has been reported by The Times to be staying at a five-bedroom property in Hackney with Cllr Binnie-Lubbock — a property valued in some press reports at around £2 million, though described by his spokespeople as a houseshare with several tenants. The Green party has declined to comment further on his address, citing security concerns.
Cllr Binnie-Lubbock, 40, a grandson of the late Liberal Democrat peer Lord Avebury, sits as Green councillor for Hackney Downs ward.
A number of controversies
The complaints were lodged shortly after May’s local elections, in which the Greens swept to a landslide majority on Hackney Council and won the borough’s new directly elected mayoralty under Zoë Garbett.
Nationally, the party picked up 587 council seats — the largest single-election gain in its history.
The clearance brings to a close, for now, one of a series of controversies that have surrounded Polanski since his election as Green party leader in September 2025.