The Green Party has surged past Labour to become the second most popular party in Britain, following a historic by-election victory in Gorton and Denton, a new YouGov poll reveals. The Greens now command 21% of the vote, up four points, while Labour and the Conservatives are tied at 16%, each down two points. Reform UK leads with 23%, and the Liberal Democrats remain unchanged at 14%.
The poll, conducted for Sky News on Sunday and Monday, shows the Greens are the most popular party among all age groups under 50, with 49% support from 18-24 year olds and 27% from 25-49 year olds. Anthony Wells, head of global polling at YouGov, attributed the surge to the by-election victory, which made the Greens appear a more viable option and less of a wasted vote.
The by-election saw Labour's Angeliki Stogia come third in a seat the party previously won with over 50% of the vote, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's authority amid low approval ratings and concerns over the government's direction. The result undermines Starmer's claim that a 'mainstream majority' does not want Nigel Farage or Zack Polanski as prime minister.
Addressing the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday, Starmer acknowledged that 'politics is changing, and it's changing decisively,' but insisted there is a mainstream majority that rejects Farage and Polanski. He pointed to the Employment Rights Act and Renters' Rights Act as examples of progressive change under his leadership.
The Green Party's newest MP, Hannah Spencer, a councillor and plumber, was sworn into Parliament on Monday after winning 14,980 votes, with Reform UK's Matt Goodwin second on 10,578 and Labour third on 9,364, down from 18,555 in the 2024 general election. Pollster Professor Sir John Curtice described the result as 'seismic,' adding that 'the future of British politics is now even more uncertain.'
