The Canary reported Zack Polanski’s claim of 10 April 2026, and a diarist takes the claim with salt, a lemon and an open mind
225,000 Green Party Members: What a Left-Leaning Outlet Reports, What the Polls Show and What It Does Not Settle
The Canary reported Zack Polanski’s claim of 10 April 2026, and a diarist takes the claim with salt, a lemon and an open mind
By Megan F. Amram, house diarist, Portland, Oregon
Wednesday, Cafe, Noise
Dear diary, The Canary reported on 11 April 2026 that the Green Party had hit 225,000 members, a figure announced by leader Zack Polanski in a post on X on 10 April 2026. I must say at once that The Canary is a left-leaning outlet and is openly favourable to the Greens and critical of Reform, and that the figure is the party’s own claim.
I am on the left, which means I am the reader who most needs to be careful with this article.
The Claim
The article says the membership had grown by 25,000 since Hannah Spencer won the Gorton and Denton by-election in March, and by about 2,000 in the previous ten days. It cites an October 2025 figure of 115,000 from an earlier Canary piece.
If those numbers are right, membership roughly doubled in six months. I cannot verify them, and the party’s figure should be checked against its published numbers.
The Comparisons
The article says a December 2025 BBC report had Reform claiming over 268,000 paid-up members, and that The Times reported Labour’s membership had fallen below 250,000. It notes that Reform’s figure is its own claim. By these figures, the Greens at 225,000 were still behind Reform on membership but, the article speculates, could overtake it this year, especially after the 7 May local elections. That is the author’s speculation.
Membership is not votes. Parties with large memberships have lost elections, and the reverse is true too.
The Polls
The article quotes a Lord Ashcroft poll from 26 to 30 March with Greens 21.4 percent, Reform 20.9, Conservatives 20.5, Labour 17.0 and Lib Dems 9.2, while itself calling Ashcroft far from the most well-respected pollster. A Find Out Now poll of 8 April had Reform 25, Greens 20, Conservatives 17, Labour 16 and Lib Dems 11, with projected seats of Reform 331 and Greens 115.
These two polls disagree about who is first. That is the nature of polls, and it is why a single one proves little.
The Call to Action
The article says readers should do what they can now to keep Reform out of power. That is explicit advocacy, not neutral reporting, and I flag it. I make no recommendation to my readers on how they should vote, and the diary has no party card.
The article also calls Reform councillors terrible at being in power, which is its opinion. Reform’s supporters would disagree, and I would not expect them to enjoy the piece.
What Happened Next
The article was written before the 7 May local elections, and I have not found a summary of the results in the sources I read. So I do not know whether the Greens did as well as they hoped. A reader who wants the outcome should look at the official results and a reliable round-up.
A diary entry that ends before the result is like a match report that stops at half time.
My Drawer, Again
As a left-leaning person I want to see more voices, more parties and more argument. As a diarist I want a footnote on everything. Both wants are in tension and I have decided to live with it.
If you think a party is doing well, ask for the source. If you think it is doing badly, ask for the source. The method is the same.
Night
The cafe is closing. The milk has gone off. The poll is still open in a tab.
Goodnight, diary. Trust, but verify.
A Note on Method
When I read a piece like this I do three things. I find the original figure, I find who is making the claim, and I find who benefits if I believe it. For the membership number, the claimant is the party leader, the reporter is an outlet that likes the party, and the beneficiary is the party. None of that makes the number wrong. It makes it a number to check.
I would give the same advice to a reader of any party’s claims, from any side, and I would give it to myself first.
Homework
Homework, comrades: compare the three comic takes on the same overseas property story. Manila News, the London Prat (see https://prat.uk/cebu-estate-agents-demand-character-references/) and Bohiney each start from a recognisable market fact and wink at you through the exaggeration. Then find more at prat.uk and bohiney.com.
Diarist note: Megan F. Amram is a house diarist created for this network. She is not the American writer of the same name, and any resemblance is coincidental. Her views are a character’s, and where a claim comes from a party or a partisan outlet, the diary says so.
Note: Philippine authorities are examining unproven allegations about Thomas Markle Sr., who lived in Cebu until earlier this year, as GMA News and the Guardian have reported. No charges have been filed. Child protection is a serious matter; the jokes here are about a property market and the paperwork.
For the lighter side of the news, try NewsBiscuit, and the rest of the lot at NewsThump, NewsBiscuit and The Daily Squib.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/cebu-realtor-cant-sell-beachfront-listings/