Zack Polanski, who leads the Green Party of England and Wales, is expected to open the party's Brighton conference with a proposal for a three-year freeze on private rental price rises. Housing equity across generations forms the backbone of a speech the Green leader plans to deliver to party members on Friday afternoon.

A three-year cap on private rent increases — set at whichever of CPI inflation, wage growth, or 2% happens to be the lower figure — is what he intends to put before the government as a formal proposal. The party's statement indicates he will make the case that shifts in Labour's policy direction on certain matters stem from Green pressure.

Party officials have described the Brighton conference as the largest in the Green Party of England and Wales's history, pointing to an announcement made earlier this year that membership had grown threefold in the period since Polanski took over as leader roughly a year ago.

Polanski plans to tell his audience that housing costs have risen well beyond what typical wages can cover, leaving people across multiple generations with little realistic option other than sharing family homes — whether that involves students commuting to university from a parent's address, adults in their mid-twenties still seeking stable employment, or those nearing their mid-thirties moving back in alongside a partner — and that property owners have historically held the capacity to increase rents at a rate that outpaces earnings, prompting tenants to reduce household expenditure across the board in order to maintain their accommodation.

His forthcoming argument rests on the idea that putting a ceiling on private rent rises would buy tenants time to stabilise their finances, while opening a window for the government to introduce a national Fair Rents Guarantee aimed at keeping housing costs within reach over the longer term.

Under the new law passed earlier this year, landlords face a once-per-year ceiling on rent adjustments, with any increase capped at whatever the going market rate for that property would be. Under the legislation, tenancy agreements shift to an open-ended rolling basis, and the grounds on which landlords can remove occupants are narrowed.

Data from the Office for National Statistics show that typical private rental payments across the UK reached £1,377 per month by January 2026, reflecting a 3.5% rise over the preceding year.

Polanski is anticipated to contend that the legislation falls short of fully alleviating the anxiety and instability faced by the UK's private rental population, while the Institute for Fiscal Studies has previously cautioned that rent controls — a policy the Green Party has long advocated — carry the potential for unintended market consequences, including tenant demand outstripping available supply.

Heading into its conference, the party carries gains from England's local elections earlier this year — where hundreds of council seats moved into its column — and the arrival of Hannah Spencer as its fifth MP, a position she secured through her by-election win in Makerfield.

Polling data pointing to a plateau in the party's national standing over recent months coincides with an unresolved internal debate about how it should position itself following Andy Burnham's assumption of the Labour leadership. Under Burnham's leadership as prime minister, Labour has adjusted its positions across several policy areas where the Greens had been applying electoral pressure.

Speaking to journalists before the conference got under way, Rachel Millward — who holds a co-deputy leadership role within the party — put forward the view that Labour's rhetoric had moved onto ground that now closely resembles her party's own position. Among the policy areas under discussion are changes to the voting system — a cause the Greens have long championed — alongside a potential shift toward rebuilding ties with the European Union.

Two measures put forward by Labour include trade restrictions targeting West Bank settlement activity considered unlawful under international norms, alongside the revival of a programme designed to offer refuge to displaced people. In remarks delivered before the conference got under way, Polanski attributed both policies to the electoral pressure his party had brought to bear on Labour.

The by-election in Holborn and St Pancras — set for next week following Sir Keir Starmer's departure from Parliament — places Polanski, the Green Party candidate, in a position where the conference schedule overlaps with an active campaign. Polanski had told reporters the previous week that he planned to return directly to the central London constituency once his party leader's address concluded.

During the conference weekend, he reached out to party activists by phone, pulling them away from the official proceedings to take part in his canvassing drive. Claiming that seat in the capital for the first time would depend on the Greens overturning a substantial Labour lead built up at the 2024 poll.