Zack Polanski did not vote in local elections, Green Party says

Green Party leader Zack Polanski did not vote in last week's local elections in London, a spokesperson has said.

The party said he "fell short of time" to update his address on the electoral register after moving in "as a lodger in rented accommodation" when his plans to move elsewhere fell through.

Polanski previously told Hackney mayoral candidate Zoë Garbett "you have my vote" in a video on 3 May.

A Green Party spokesperson previously told the Times, which first reported on the story, that Polanski may have used a postal vote in Hackney after he was seen campaigning in Wales on polling day. The party has since told the BBC that this had been a "miscommunication".

The spokesperson said earlier on Thursday that Polanski had faced "heightened intrusion and safety risk" and had been "the target of antisemitic and homophobic abuse" since becoming leader, adding that there had been two arrests related to "abuse directed towards him".

Polanski ultimately failed to register to vote as a result of the security concerns and the "extra process" required to register to vote anonymously, the spokesperson said.

Earlier this week, the Green Party admitted that Polanski may have failed to pay council tax while living in a houseboat moored in an east London marina.

A resident of a boat is liable to pay council tax when it is used as their sole or main residence, experts say.

In an advertisement to sell the boat, Polanski's partner described it as "our amazing home... for three years".

When the BBC asked the Green Party for clarification, a spokesperson said: "Until relatively recently, Zack was living on a houseboat, which came with its own unique practical circumstances and considerations."

The party told the Times that Polanski lived in a room at a different London address, where he paid council tax, and had only stayed on the boat "occasionally".

"I thought I had been paying monthly mooring fees and I presumed the council tax would be included in that," Polanski told broadcasters on Thursday.

"I also take responsibility - it's up to me make sure that I pay the tax that I owe," he said. "It's still not clear if I owe council tax or not. I've been in touch with the council.

"Even if it turns out I don't owe anything, I will still pay the appropriate amount, because of the principle."

The marina falls under Waltham Forest borough council, and the Mail reported that Polanski had been registered to vote there.

A Waltham Forest Council spokesperson said it was assessing and taking legal advice over "complex factors unique to moorings".