Whisper it, but it appears Zack Polanski’s eco-populism strategy is working. After his election as the new leader of the Green party, support for the environmentalists has surged. The party’s membership has seen an 80 per cent increase since Polanski took the reins last month, according to the group, which claims it now has over 126,000 paid-up members. The eco-zealots have more than double the reported members of the Lib Dems and have overtaken the Tories to become the third largest party in the UK. Good heavens!
There’s more good news for Polanski and his unique brand of eco-socialism: the latest YouGov polling from 19-20 October shows the Greens have hit their highest figure ever recorded by the pollsters, with the environmentalists tied with the Lib Dems on 15 per cent. Polanski’s party is up two percentage points on the last data set, with Scotland’s pro-indy SNP up one point. Reform is in the lead on 26 per cent, down a point from the last poll, while Labour and the Tories have stayed consistent with 20 per cent support and 17 per cent respectively. How very interesting…
The figures come as concern grows in some quarters of the Labour party about the threat from the left. A number of his politicians (some in government) have grown increasingly critical of Sir Keir Starmer’s attempts to ‘out-Reform Reform’ while ignoring the party’s left flank. The party leadership remains convinced that tough talk – and action – on immigration alongside a focus on economic growth is the right strategy, but as Polanski’s populism continues to attract followers, expect Starmer’s dissenters to become more vocal…
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