It’s fair to say that sending a Richard Tice to debate a prominent Green Party representative at Glastonbury would be very much like an away game for the Reform MP. But that hasn’t stopped Zack Polanski from getting a landing a quick dig on his political counterpart.
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Zack Polanski vs Richard Tice – the debate that never was
Last week, Tice – the deputy leader of Reform – was invited to debate Polanski, who serves as the deputy leader for the Green Party. The self-styled ‘eco populist’ also has ambitions to helm the left-leaning organisation, and is running to replace the current co-leaders later this year.
Part of Polanski’s play for power includes taking on high-profile figures on the opposite end of the political spectrum, with the objective of taking his message to places and people that would usually be seen as difficult to win over. Essentially, a similar opportunity was offered to Mr. Tice.
Richard Tice raises safety concerns over Glastonbury debate
However, in a statement issued over the weekend, representatives for Richard Tice stated that ‘it would not be safe’ for him to attend Glastonbury, citing fears over a recent Reform campaign event in Aberdeen that was disrupted by protesters which allegedly included Antifa.
But sympathy was in short supply from Polanksi’s side…
Festival fury as controversial acts cause mayhem
Right-wing fears regarding Glastonbury have intensified this year. The likes of Kneecap and Bob Vylan are both having footage of their sets reviewed this weekend, after the artists projected their pro-Palestine and anti-IDF messages to thousands of attendees.
In particular, Bob Vylan received universal condemnation from all ends of the political spectrum, with the likes of Kemi Badenoch and Wes Streeting describing the set as ‘appalling’. The Daily Mail also published a front-page splash on Sunday calling for the group’s arrest.
Rupert Lowe, who was suspended by Reform earlier this year, has written to BBC Director General Tim Davie to request that the broadcaster pulls all future coverage of Glastonbury going forward, saying that the event now supports ‘blatant politicisation and flith’.