Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales; won control of Hackney and Lewisham in May 2026.
Last refreshed: 3 June 2026 · Appears in 3 active topics
Can the Greens turn Hackney and Lewisham mayoralties into a durable third force?
Timeline for Green Party
Fell two points from pre-election 17% peak to 15% as governing responsibility replaced protest-vote status
UK Local Elections 2026: Green air comes out as governing beginsVoted with SNP to form the majority bloc behind the Section 30 motion
UK Local Elections 2026: Holyrood demands a vote it cannot forceMentioned in: Reform loses 22 councillors in 14 days
UK Local Elections 2026Mentioned in: ap Iorwerth's six-power Wales Bill ask
UK Local Elections 2026Mentioned in: Seven Reform exits in seven days
UK Local Elections 2026- Why are the Greens polling equal to Labour in 2026?
- A YouGov poll on 6-7 April 2026 placed both parties at 16% Westminster voting intention — the first time in modern British polling history the Greens have drawn level with Labour. Membership has tripled to 220,000 under leader Zack Polanski.Source: YouGov / PollCheck
- What is the Green Party's chance of winning councils in May 2026?
- PollCheck and Elections Etc project net Green gains of approximately +555 English council seats, reaching around 696 total. The party targets outright control of Hastings and Norwich, and is challenging Labour in Islington, Lambeth, Hackney, and Lewisham.Source: PollCheck
- Could the Greens become kingmakers in the Welsh Senedd?
- Yes. YouGov's Senedd MRP projects the Wales Greens at 10 seats. A Plaid-Green Coalition would reach 53 seats, four above the majority threshold. Wales Greens leader Anthony Slaughter says the party is ready to be kingmakers.Source: YouGov
- Who is Zack Polanski and what has he done for the Green Party?
- Zack Polanski became Green Party leader in September 2025. Under him, membership has tripled to 220,000 and the party has drawn level with or ahead of Labour in national polls for the first time.Source: Green Party
- Are the Greens polling ahead of Labour in 2026?
- YouGov's final Westminster tracker on 4-5 May 2026 placed the Greens at 17%, one point ahead of Labour at 16% — the first final-week national poll of the cycle to show Greens outpolling the governing party.Source: YouGov
- Did the Greens beat Reform UK in any by-elections?
- Yes. The Greens flipped a Cliftonville ward in Kent from Reform UK in April 2026 — a notable result because FPTP normally favours larger parties and Reform had held the seat.Source: Lowdown uk-elections-2026
- What did the Green Party win in the May 2026 local elections?
- The Greens won outright control of Hackney and Waltham Forest councils, the mayoralties of Hackney and Lewisham, and a net gain of approximately 555 English council seats to reach 696 total. They also polled 17% in the final YouGov Westminster tracker, ahead of Labour.Source: Lowdown UK Elections 2026
- Who leads the Green Party?
- Zack Polanski has led the Green Party of England and Wales since September 2025. Under his leadership membership tripled to 220,000.Source: Lowdown UK Elections 2026
- What is the Green Party's position on the UK's involvement in Iran?
- The Greens co-anchor the cross-party Westminster Coalition opposing UK involvement in the 2026 Iran operations, alongside Your Party and Labour backbenchers.Source: Lowdown Iran Conflict 2026
- Are the Green Party and the Wales Green Party the same organisation?
- No. The Green Party of England and Wales and the Wales Green Party are separate organisations. The Wales Green Party operates under the broader umbrella but with independent electoral strategy; its two Senedd MSs provided confidence-and-supply support for the Plaid Cymru Welsh Government in May 2026.Source: Lowdown UK Elections 2026
- When did the Greens first win a Westminster by-election?
- Hannah Spencer won the Gorton by-election in February 2026 with 40.7% of the vote, the party's first Westminster by-election victory.Source: Lowdown UK Elections 2026
Background
The Green Party of England and Wales was founded in 1973 as the Ecology Party and renamed in 1990. It returned its strongest Westminster result at the 2024 general election, winning four seats. Under leader Zack Polanski (since September 2025), membership tripled to 220,000. The party campaigns on environmental policy, social justice, and opposition to UK military engagements abroad. Its devolved sister organisation, the Wales Green Party (a separate entity), operates under the broader umbrella but with independent electoral strategy. The Scottish Greens are a fully independent party.
A YouGov poll (6-7 April, 2,320 respondents) placed the party level with Labour at 16% Westminster voting intention, the first time in modern polling history the two parties have drawn level nationally. Polanski launched the local election campaign in Deptford on 10 April, explicitly targeting Labour's flagship London councils. On 7 May 2026 the Greens won outright control of Hackney and Waltham Forest and took the mayoralties of both Hackney (Zoë Garbett) and Lewisham (Liam Shrivastava), the first Green elected mayors of any London borough. The Wales Green Party provided the two confidence-and-supply votes that made Rhun ap Iorwerth First Minister of Wales on 12 May 2026, ending 27 years of Labour devolved government. The YouGov final Westminster tracker (4-5 May) placed the Greens at 17%, one point ahead of Labour at 16%.
The Green Party co-anchors the cross-party Westminster Coalition opposing UK involvement in the 2026 Iran operations, alongside Your Party and Labour backbenchers. Green MPs are the most consistent anti-war parliamentary bloc, drawing on the party's long-standing opposition to British military adventurism.