The Green Party has leapfrogged Labour into second place in a sensational poll by YouGov for Sky News.
The Greens are up four points to 21%, driven to a significant extent by the publicity from the Gorton and Denton by-election, according to the pollster.
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Anthony Wells, head of global polling from YouGov, says this reflects the Greens appearing to be a more viable option and less of a wasted vote.
The YouGov weekly voting intention poll puts Reform UK on 23%, down one, Greens on 21%, up four, Labour and the Tories tied on 16, both down two, and the Lib Dems unchanged on 14.
The Greens are now the most popular party in all age categories under 50. Some 49% of 18-24 year olds would back the Greens, as well as 27% of 25 to 49-year-olds – the top choice.
The latest poll underlines how voters who backed Labour in the 2024 general election are now spread across the electoral spectrum.
Of those who voted Labour then, just 37% would vote Labour again, 25% would now vote Green, 8% Lib Dem and 20% don’t know, would not vote or refused to say.
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Different factions inside Labour have been fighting to interpret the rise of the Greens and the result in Gorton and Denton, with some urging the party to move to the left and soften policies on things like immigration, while others say Sir Keir Starmer should stay tough or risk losing other parts of his electoral coalition.
The polling suggests that the Greens’ appeal is broader than white collar workers. Those classified as doing “routine” jobs also vote Green in significant numbers.
