As I spread it out on the kitchen sideboard, what struck me was just how pedestrian the Labour and the Conservative pitches seemed compared to those offered by the Greens and Reform. Where the Tories promised to reconsider low-traffic neighbourhoods, Reform promised to end the “war on drivers”. Where Labour promised gradualism, the Greens declared themselves “tired of the establishment protecting billionaires while our rivers fill up with sewage”.

Does any of this matter? My bit of London is effectively a one-party state, as most of the council seats are held by Labour. But how long will this hold?

It has always struck me as ironic that I left the north-east of England at a time when Labour’s hold on the region seemed untouchable, only to watch from afar as it slowly moved right, while the area I live in now turned into the real Labour heartland. Will my children watch London abandon Labour in a similar way, only moving left to the Greens? Everywhere I walk locally, I spot posters supporting Zack Polanski’s Greens.

I can only think of one house I have walked past proclaiming its loyalty to Keir Starmer. This is not normal. But how long can things go on like this?

As I write, the Prime Minister has never seemed more alone or small on the political stage, staggering through crisis after crisis, losing allies and abandoning friends to maintain his grip on power. It is hard to find anyone who thinks Starmer will lead Labour into the next general election; few think he will see out this year. The challenge from the Greens is a key part of this story and should not be dismissed as mere protest politics.

One of the most important political stories of my life has been the attritional warfare waged against the Conservative Party from its populist right. Throughout this time Nigel Farage (and Faragism) has waxed and waned, only now seemingly to stand on the brink of power. Even after the 2016 Brexit vote, Farage seemed lost, burrowing into his den of American money for three years, before returning for the 2019 European elections.

In the period between Boris Johnson’s December 2019 victory and the 2024 general election, there was a similar pattern of hiatus and return. Polanski, who is interviewed by our political editor, Ailbhe Rea, is experiencing the flush of a populist surge. As Ailbhe reports, Polanski experiences (in some parts of the country) rock-star levels of adoration, much like Jeremy Corbyn did in the run-up to his near triumph in 2017.

Left populism is not new nor is it going away, much as Faragism has remained with us. The causes of its support are structural, not personal. Corbyn first entered the mainstream in the 2015 Labour leadership contest, before winning almost 13 million votes in the 2017 election.

He was an imperfect human vessel for the forces he gathered around him – as the problems around Your Party have proved. Many failed to take Corbynism seriously, but the truth is, its power remains. In 2025, discussing the potential voters of Your Party, the former Corbyn adviser James Schneider summarised this group as “the asset-poor working class, downwardly mobile graduates and racialised communities”.

These are the people who are rallying to Polanski’s side, and are stopping him in the street for selfies. It should not be assumed that his support will dissipate just because Corbyn faded from view. So much of the coverage of Polanski so far has treated him as a joke.

But in our profile, we interrogated his politics and beliefs, to better to understand where the country is headed. Let us know how we did. Meanwhile at home, I hope to put my election leaflets to one side and find some forms of TV escapism with my children. Race Across the World, Gladiators, Match of the Day and, alas, Gabby’s Dollhouse await. [Further reading: Keir Starmer is all alone]