Zack Polanski admits Greens' rules need to change after 'Zionism is racism' motion as he fights to stay as leader

Zack Polanski has suggested he could re-write Green Party rules amid an anti-Semitism row that has plunged his leadership into crisis.

The self-described 'eco-populist' said the party must 'evolve' to give leaders 'more responsibility' to set its 'strategic direction'.

It follows a vote by party members at the Greens' conference in Brighton earlier this month to support a motion that declares 'Zionism is racism'.

A storm of criticism has seen the motion described as an 'attack' on the Jewish community and the Greens branded 'an extremist party'.

Opponents also claim the motion effectively calls for the eradication of Israel as it refers only to a single Palestinian state.

Mr Polanski controversially skipped the vote on the motion at the Greens' conference on 4 October in order to campaign ahead of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.

His decision to focus on his bid to become an MP rather than remain in Brighton saw him accused of a 'lack of leadership' by critics from within his own party. 

Mr Polanski then went on to lose the contest in the north London constituency to Labour, which added to questions over his leadership of the Greens.

The Greens have seen their membership surge to more than 200,000 since Mr Polanski took over as leader in September last year. 

The 'Zionism is racism' motion passed at the Brighton conference with around 1,000 members voting in favour and some 800 against.

Ex-Green leader Caroline Lucas has suggested there had been 'entryism' by activists who joined the party solely to back the motion without supporting its wider policies.

In an article for The Guardian, Mr Polanski admitted there was a need to change the Greens' internal processes in the wake of its membership surge.

'Our party has grown to a size none of us could have anticipated when I became leader,' he wrote.

'Our party democracy must now evolve to meet that – creating wider engagement for members, giving leaders more responsibility to set the party's strategic direction, and making our processes as robust and accessible as possible.'

Mr Polanski said he agreed with the broad substance of the motion, but added there are 'elements of the motion that I don't agree with, such as dictating the future shape of a state in Israel and Palestine'.

He also acknowledged that some felt 'let down' by his decision to skip the vote on the motion to campaign in Holborn and St Pancras.

The motion set into Green policy that Zionism is defined as a form of racism and support for the establishment of 'a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine'.

Despite becoming policy, it does not mean it will necessarily appear in the party's future manifesto and the party's MPs – four out of five of which rejected the move – are not obligated to back it.

Ellie Chowns, the Green MP for North Herefordshire, told the BBC on Saturday that she wants to make sure her party is not 'vulnerable to capture by extremists and racists' as she issued a call for policies to represent the views of the majority of members.

Adrian Ramsay, a former Green co-leader and Green MP for Waveney Valley, has called for the party to get 'back on track' and return to its 'core purpose' of championing environmental causes in the wake of the vote.