Why Reform wants Zack Polanski arrested

What’s the story?

Reform UK have reacted furiously to Zack Polanski sharing an image on his Instagram they claim is “inciting murder”, and say he should be arrested for.

Polanski was tagged in a collection of images, which he reshared. Among those photos was a man wearing a t-shirt with the image of a guillotine, and the slogan ‘We’re only making plans for Nigel’, lyrics from a 1979 song.

“If I was to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski,” said Nigel Farage.

“If Zack Polanski is not in police custody by this time tomorrow, the Police will have declared open season on Members of Parliament,” said Zia Yusuf.

“Polanski is inciting murder. It must be treated as such by the police.”

"Once this image was brought to [Zack's] attention he immediately unshared the post," said a spokesperson for the Green Party.

"He unequivocally does not support this type of dangerous message."

Reform UK has linked Polanski's resharing to the murder of Ann Widdecombe, and reported the Green leader to the police.

“It's all very well saying you didn't realise, but you are the leader of a political party with all the responsibility that comes with it,” says Jon Sopel.

“Polanski has got a bit of a track record now emerging on his social media posts, where things get put up and then they get taken down, or he then apologises for something he said, but several hours later.”

He says the leader of the Greens is either sharing extreme content as a “dogwhistle” to his followers, or “chronically online” that he isn’t bothering to check what he’s sharing.

Is Zack Polanski chasing the dopamine hit of phone notifications?

Lewis Goodall says Reform and its MPs are “legitimately entitled” to say that the message sent by Polanski’s Instagram post shouldn’t be shared by anyone – let alone the leader of a major political party with hundreds of thousands of followers.

“Zach Polanski is a terminally online political figure, and that has been an asset,” Lewis says.

:To some extent it has explained his rise.”

He says the rise of the Green Party, following Polanski’s appointment as leader, was due to the “doldrums” of Keir Starmer’s Labour government, and the “crisp clarity” of his social media posts and interactions.

“It managed to appeal to a disaffected left populist vote in the country that basically hadn't been spoken to since the days of Jeremy Corbyn,” he adds.

“But there is a fine line between engaging with people online, and then simply spending so much time on your phone that you're basically approving and accepting for a little dopamine rush you get from a notification.

“If you're a political leader, you shouldn't be doing that.”

New polling shows Green Party support has slumped to just 8%, when earlier in the year it was rivalling establishment parties such as Labour and Conservatives in opinion polls.

Is Reform squeaky clean when it comes to social media use?

In February 2026, the Reform deputy leader of Lancashire County Council apologised after sharing a social media post which called for Labour MP Natalie Fleet to "be shot".

Yusuf previously apologised for liking an antisemitic post on X about Robert Jenrick, which also referred to "brown savages".

In September 2025, Lucy Connolly, the woman jailed for calling on rioters to set fire to migrant hotels with families inside them, was a guest at a Reform UK conference.

The same month, Farage told Congress that Connolly’s arrest over a social media post was "living proof of what can go wrong" when free-speech is restricted, claiming the UK was no different to North Korea.

Sarah Pochin, known to many as the Reform MP who gets angry when she sees Black people in TV adverts, laughed during a Talk TV interview about arson attacks on Keir Starmer’s property.

'Either Reform wants the police involved in social media, or it doesn't'

By Reform logic, what Polanski posted online was bad and deserves arrest, but what Connolly shared warranted a guest of honour spot at a conference.

But surely this isn't simply performative outrage?

"Nigel Farage used Lucy Connolly to argue that the British establishment had become authoritarian, and was clamping down on free speech," says Jon.

"He even went to Congress in the US to say Britain has turned its back on free speech as a result of what happened to her."

Lewis says Reform need to get their ducks in a line when it comes to incitement online.

"Reform repeatedly tells us that we are a police state, that the police try to sanction us for what we put on our social media profiles," he says.

"They are now reporting it to the police, which the MET has confirmed, and saying they would expect Polanski to be arrested for it.

"It's one or the other, lads. Either you want the police to be getting involved in our online life or you don't."

Jon and Lewis state clearly that what Polanski shared was unacceptable, and both also say that Reform's response reeks of hypocrisy and double standards.

"Reform are taking umbrage at one thing, but then have their own heroes and champions they turn a bit of a blind eye to – they cannot have it both ways," Jon says.

"Political violence is wrong. Full stop. The threat of political violence is wrong. Full stop. It doesn't matter where it comes from, and it doesn't matter which side is propagating.

"The Green Party should learn from the stupidity, and Reform should learn to be consistent."

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