Exclusive: Zack Polanski Accuses Nigel Farage Of 'Running Scared' Of Head-To-Head Debate
Zack Polanski has accused Nigel Farage of “running scared” after the Reform UK leader turned down the chance of a head-to-head debate with his Green Party rival.
Farage said “if you pick a fight which a chimney sweep you get covered in soot” when asked whether he would take Polanski up on the offer.
It comes after the Green Party leader knocked back the chance of a debate with Reform policy chief Zia Yusuf.
Referring to Polanski’s support for drug legalisation, Farage added: “You know, he’s got a fan club. All the heroin smokers think he’s absolutely marvellous.”
But Polanski told HuffPost UK: “Farage is running scared - he doesn’t want to talk about Reform’s super-rich backers, their Russia links, their plans to strip rights away from working people and to introduce charges to use the NHS.”
???? WATCH: Nigel Farage rejects Zack Polanski's request for a one-to-one debate
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) February 3, 2026
"I generally find that if you pick a fight with a chimney sweep you get covered in soot, so I might just leave that alone"
"But he's got a fan club - all the heroin smokers and everything" pic.twitter.com/e5F6H80eV4
The Greens are locked in a three-way battle with Reform and Labour in the crunch Gorton and Denton by-election, which takes place on February 26.
Polanski added: “Farage knows that in Gorton and Denton, Labour are out of the race and Hannah Spencer is coming for Reform.
“It’s no surprise Farage is hiding behind cheap jokes - he’s got nothing to gain and everything to lose from going up against someone willing to say it how it is.”