Green Party leader Zack Polanski apologises over houseboat council tax row

Zack Polanski has apologised after a houseboat row raised fresh questions about the Green Party leader’s tax compliance, voter registration and broader message on fairness and accountability. He said the error was “unintentional” and said he had “immediately taken steps” to pay any council tax he may owe.

The dispute centres on where Polanski actually lived while staying on a houseboat in London, including east London, for around three years. A now-deleted listing reportedly described the boat as his partner’s “amazing home”, while Polanski had previously suggested he stayed there only “occasionally”. That gap between public presentation and private reality has sharpened scrutiny of a politician whose party has tried to sell itself as a clean break from establishment politics.

The Green Party said Polanski’s council tax had been included in the rent he paid his landlord, but the arrangement has drawn questions about whether the charge was handled correctly. Under UK rules, council tax liability generally turns on whether a property is a person’s sole or main residence. Legislation in the Local Government Finance Act 1992 specifically covers liability in respect of caravans and boats, including moorings occupied by a boat, and local authority guidance says boats used as main homes are generally treated like conventional dwellings for council tax purposes.

That makes the row more than a dispute about a single bill. It reaches into the mechanics of how the state records residence. Council tax is administered separately from electoral registration, and questions have now been raised over whether Polanski’s voter registration matched where he actually lived. In one account, he was registered to vote at a nearby bungalow in Hackney, even as the boat was presented as a home.

The issue landed at a politically sensitive moment for the Green Party, which has been trying to capitalise on gains and campaign momentum from the May 2026 local elections. Polanski’s opponents have seized on the episode as a test of honesty rather than a technicality, asking whether a leader who campaigns on fairness, housing and taxation can afford even the appearance of sloppy compliance.

The Green Party leader’s apology may limit the immediate damage, but the underlying question remains whether the lapse was merely embarrassing or whether it cuts into the party’s claim to moral authority. For a movement built on public trust and anti-establishment credibility, the answer could matter well beyond one houseboat in London.