Pluto Press snaps up Russell Warfield's 'timely' new political analysis
Pluto Press has acquired The Green Socialist: Zack Polanski and the Battle for Britain’s Future, a "timely" new political analysis by communications strategist and commentator Russell Warfield.
Pluto publisher David Castle commissioned the book following the Green Party’s recent electoral breakthroughs, fast-tracking publication to provide the first political book to examine Polanski’s leadership. The book will be released in September 2026 in paperback.
"Part political analysis of Polanski’s leadership, part political biography, The Green Socialist examines the conditions that propelled Polanski to the leadership with a record-breaking mandate and charts the subsequent surge in Green Party membership and national relevance," the synopsis says. "Set against Labour’s electoral fragility, the continued rise of Reform UK and intensifying debates about the shape of progressive politics, the book positions the Greens as a key actor in Britain’s political realignment."
The blurb adds: "Warfield argues that Polanski represents, not a rupture within Green politics, but the culmination of a longer arc – one rooted in the party’s internal tensions, strategic dilemmas and evolving relationship with the wider left. Through detailed narrative and political analysis, the book explores key divides within the Greens: activism versus electoral pragmatism, rural versus urban growth strategies, issues versus elections and the evolving balance between environmental and socialist politics.
"Drawing on original interviews and first-hand experience from his time in senior communications roles within the Green Party – including during Polanski’s 2025 leadership campaign – Warfield provides insider insight while maintaining a critical lens on the party’s strategic challenges ahead of the 2029 General Election."
Warfield said: "This book tells the story of the extraordinary rise of the Green Party and its leader, who represent a new hope in UK politics. I look at the party’s history – including its tensions, limitations and contradictions, and having worked as a comms strategist for the party, I bring new insights into its inner workings and prospects, critically uncovering the potential of the party and its new leader to answer the question we all have: Can the Greens transform politics in the UK?"
Castle added: "Pluto Press always publishes on the cutting edge of left-wing politics. This is why I commissioned Russell to write this book – we saw a huge groundswell of interest in the Green Party from our readers, one that needed a deeper dive than just news headlines. I know Russell was the right person to do this because he both knows the Greens intimately and has enough distance to bring nuance to his analysis. As the first book on the market on this zeitgeist topic, we expect interest across the board from broadsheets to tabloids alike […] I wanted this book to give readers a deeper understanding of this youthful new political moment, and hopefully of a party that can halt the rising tide of Reform and the right in the UK."
