Sir Keir Starmer‘s crisis deepened today as a poll showed the Green Party surging ahead of Labour in national support.
Zack Polanski’s party has received a major bounce in the wake of its stunning Gorton and Denton by-election victory last week.
Labour MPs have been hitting the panic button after the Greens romped to victory in what has traditionally been an ultra-safe seat.
Fears have been heightened by the ‘eco-populist’ insurgents’ success in capitalising on Muslim voters’ anger over Gaza.
A YouGov poll released this morning showed the Greens on 21 per cent, up four points over the past week.
That was only just behind Reform, who pushed Labour into third in Gorton, on 23 per cent support.
Meanwhile, Labour was down two points on 16 per cent, tied with the Tories.
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A Green bounce was expected after the by-election, given the extent of coverage of the party’s victory.
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But it will do nothing to ease the increasingly febrile mood on the Government benches, after Sir Keir barely survived a coup last month.
Commenting on the YouGov poll, Mr Polanski said: ‘It’s becoming increasingly clear every single day that the way to stop the rise of the Right in this country is to join the Green Party.
‘It’s also the way to invest in our communities, lower our bills and protect our planet.’
The research also revealed the Greens are now the most popular party in all aged catergories under 50 years of age.
Some 49 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds would back the Greens, as well as 27 per cent of 25-to-49 year olds.
The YouGov poll also underlined how voters who backed Labour at the 2024 general election are now spread across the electoral spectrum.
Of those who voted Labour then, just 37 per cent would vote Labour again, 25 per cent would now vote Green, 8 per cent would support the Liberal Democrats and 20 per cent don’t know, would not vote or refused to say.
The Prime Minister tried to calm his troops at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party last night, although he was faced with a series of hostile questions about his approach.
Sir Keir told MPs: ‘I believe, and continue to believe, that there is a mainstream majority in this country who neither want Nigel Farage or Zack Polanski as their prime minister.’
Amid huge pressure for a lurch to the Left to counter the Greens, Sir Keir insisted he was delivering ‘progressive change’ with ‘moral purpose’.
He added that ‘generational change’ is ‘already happening’ as a result of his Government, pointing to the Employment Rights Act and Renters’ Rights Act as examples of laws aimed at helping Labour’s traditional voters.
He also singled out the Government’s investment in the NHS, drive for clean power, and action on child poverty.
New Green MP Hannah Spencer was sworn in yesterday. The party now has five members of the House of Commons, the highest ever.
The PM tried to calm his troops at a meeting of the Parliamentary Party last night, although he was faced with a series of hostile questions about his approach
