The Green Party fell below its own expectations at its first real electoral test in a set of mixed results for Zack Polanski's troupe of radical Leftists.
Mixed Results for Greens
The party made gains in inner-city strongholds at local elections yet struggled to deliver the 'Green wave' of councillors 'sweeping England and Wales' Mr Polanski had predicted in March. Where recent polls had the Greens winning 555 local council seats nationally from a base of 141, last night it looked like they might fall around 100 short of such a tally.
But they still tore chunks from the Labour vote to contribute to a nightmare for Sir Keir Starmer. The Greens landed their first two mayoralties, took control of Norwich City Council and ousted the Labour leader of Camden Council in Sir Keir's own Holborn and St Pancras constituency.
Successes and Setbacks
They also scooped up 31 seats directly from Labour in Waltham Forest, east London, landing their first council in the capital. But, as an insurgent party with a sudden surge in support, they found translating momentum into seats difficult. A lack of a targeted approach, plus recent anti-Semitism scandals, saw the Greens miss out in several places with votes for them only aiding other parties, such as Reform, by draining support from Labour.
Polling guru Sir John Curtice yesterday said that a 'good Green performance is more damaging to Labour than a good Reform performance' as the Greens are 'more likely to take votes off Labour'. Revealing how far voters have turned against Sir Keir, Zoe Garbett took the Hackney mayoralty for the Greens with 35,720 votes, leaving Labour incumbent Caroline Woodley with just 26,865.
Historic Victories
Ms Garbett's victory dealt yet another historic blow to Labour – which had held the position since the role was created in 2002. The party also took Hackney council from Labour, winning 29 seats out of 57 – increasing its tally from just two last time – while Labour lost 27 seats from its previous 35.
Mr Polanski called it 'a historic victory', adding: 'Two-party politics is not just dying, it is dead and it is buried.' Green candidate Liam Shrivastava also won the mayoralty in south London's Lewisham. He received 35,265 votes, some 40 per cent.
Anti-Semitism Concerns
The new Hackney mayor used her winning speech to batter Labour over its stance on Gaza, which has seen it haemorrhage support in recent months. Among the litany of Sir Keir's failures in Government, she suggested Labour had lost because it was 'supporting genocide' in Gaza. But the Greens' anti-Semitism crisis, continually exposed by the Daily Mail, seemed to have limited the party's success.
This paper last week revealed the party was investigating more than 30 candidates for hateful comments ahead of the local polls. Tory shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said on Friday that 'one look beneath the surface of Zack Polanski's Green Party shows a party toxic to its core' and that 'the Green Party has created the conditions that welcome all of these candidates'.
