🔗 Share this article

Recent polling produced for the Green Party reveals that the political group is now seen more favorably than each other political organization in London, and head Zack Polanski claiming this demonstrates they are “on track” to replace Labour.

The polling from YouGov, executed to match the Green Party’s annual meeting in Bournemouth, asked electorate in England to rank the leading parties by positive sentiment about them, instead of the typical question of who they would support.

Countrywide and Capital Survey Outcomes

By this measure, throughout England, the Green Party were beaten only by the Reform party in regarding the proportion who ranked them first, gaining 17% of top choices. This was against, 27% for Reform, 16% for the Labour Party, 15% for the Lib Dems, and the Tory total of 14%.

Looking only at London responses, the Greens came top, with 27% of the first-preference choices, compared to 20% for the Labour Party, 16% for Reform UK, 15% for the Conservatives and 14% for the Liberal Democrats.

Youth Endorsement

The difference was even more notable among voters aged 18 to 24, with 36% putting the Greens as their top preference. Next were the Labour Party on 24%, then 14% for the Lib Dems and just 6% each for the Tories and Reform UK.

Demonstrating how the Greens under Polanski could gain voters from ex-Labour supporters, another analysis of the survey showed almost 25% of people who backed Keir Starmer in the previous election now listed the Greens as their preferred party.

Polanski’s Remarks

Addressing media at the event, Zack Polanski, who won the election to head the Greens in both countries a last month, restated the pledge in his talk to the gathering that the party was targeting the Labour Party.

“I think it’s already happening,” he stated. “We’re seeing defections. Just last month in Barking and Dagenham, we added several new representatives to the Green Party. It’s also happening right across both nations.”

“At local council elections, there was a impressive success lately in the coastal city, where the Labour support plummeted and the Green support surged. Reform remains a concern, certainly, and the reality of their moderate support in the capital is a real threat, I think, to anyone who’s a progressive voice.

“Yet certainly, the strategy has consistently been to supplant the Labour Party at the electoral level, beginning locally, and I think we are progressing to accomplish that.”

Labour Concerns

Labour figures and advisors are extremely concerned about how the political group will perform next May in elections for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, and for a number of local authorities across England.

In London, where nearly 1,800 council seats across 32 boroughs are being vied for, there is worry in the Labour Party, which won nearly 44% of the seats when they were last contested in 2022, that there could be heavy losses to Reform UK in outer suburban areas and to the Green Party in inner-city zones.

Polanski’s Alert

In his speech on Friday, Polanski alerted to what he described as the “controlled deterioration” of the ruling party, suggesting that if he does not alter direction, Starmer would “cede the nation easily” to Reform.

The leader stated the Green Party would be aiming for “roles all over London”, adding: “What I’m excited about is … that backing is widely distributed, and that we will be competing in places that we haven’t traditionally campaigned in before.”