The leader of the Green Party has dismissed being labelled as “radical”, despite saying he wants to legalise all drugs, as he looks to boost success in the South East.

Speaking to BBC South East ahead of the party’s conference, Zack Polanski said his party wants to take a “different approach” on issues like defence and the war on drugs.

The Green Party will gather in Bournemouth on Friday for their first autumn conference under a new leadership team which also consists of deputy co-leaders Mothin Ali and Rachel Millward, the current deputy leader of Wealden District Council.

The party has seen growing success in local council elections in parts of Kent Sussex and Surrey in recent years, including in previously Conservative-voting areas like Wealden, Reigate and Maidstone.

Polanski told BBC South East he wants to legalise all drugs, calling for an approach “led by public health experts, not politicians”, following previous calls for legalisation by Kent Green councillor Stuart Jeffrey.

“The war on drugs has absolutely failed, and ultimately we need to be having a public health approach,” Polanski said.

His view is that the taxpayer already has to pay “for a crime that happens, for the fact that people are in the illegal drug markets, for gangs that we see across county lines”.

“For far too long, prime ministers have stuck their heads in their sand and said ‘if we just make drugs illegal, everything’s going to be okay’,” Polanski added.

Modelling himself as an “eco-populist” during the recent leadership election, he was seen to have a more radical, left-wing approach.

It was argued by his opponents that this might alienate the more moderate, former Conservative party voters who had turned to the party over issues like protecting green spaces from housebuilding.

The leader rejected this idea when speaking to BBC South East.

He said: “I think the radical thing for people in the South East is the fact that their wages have not gone up, but their bills have gone up, the fact that they can’t get an NHS dentist appointment.

“The fact that it feels like there’s no real future or opportunities for young people.

“So I don’t actually think what I’m offering is radical. What I’m offering, I think can appeal to almost everybody.”

Mr Polanski remains clear that his party wants to “tax multi-millionaires and billionaires” in order to create a fairer society.

“This is about redistributing the excess wealth that is happening right across the South East and England and Wales, and saying, let’s put that money back into our communities,” he said.

The leader discussed a myriad of other issues, including defence and the party’s general election prospects.

When asked whether the former Conservative voters now with the Green Party would support his ambition for the UK to leave NATO, Mr Polanski stressed that the UK needs “a different approach to defence”.

He said: “What I’m talking about there is recognising we can’t be in hock to Donald Trump.

“What I want to do is have a conversation about what an alternative alliance looks like with our European neighbours.”

This would not “necessarily” mean spending more on defence, Mr Polanski added.

Turning attention to the next general election, the Green leader has previously said he thinks his party can win 30-40 seats.

When it come to the South East he says other seats in Brighton will be “first on the list”, with the party hopeful of adding to the Brighton Pavilion it has held since 2010.

Mr Polanski said: “I think the fact that Sian Berry has such an incredible success, in Brighton Pavilion shows that a lot of the seats around there suddenly get into play.

“That doesn’t rule out other seats too.”