New polling by Savanta ComRes ahead of the Green Party Conference shows two in five (39%) UK adults saying they would consider voting for the Green Party if they were standing in an election where they lived, irrespective of how they normally vote.
This is lower than the proportion who say the same for the Conservatives (44%) and Labour (48%), but significantly higher than those who said the same for the Liberal Democrats (32%).
The proportion who would consider voting for the Green Party includes half of both 2019 Labour voters (49%) and those aged 18-34 (50%). A quarter of 2019 Conservative voters (26%) also say they would consider it.
However, with our Westminster Voting Intention polling consistently showing the Greens on between 4-6% of the vote share, and with just one MP in the Commons, this consideration is not pulling through when it comes to actual voting.
Among those who would not consider voting for the Green Party, three in ten said that it was because they were unlikely to win in that area (28%). This proportion rises to a third amongst 2019 Labour voters (33%).
A quarter said that it is because they are loyal to another party (25%), rising to 27% of among Conservative voters and over a third of Labour voters (35%).
Comparatively, just one in five said they would not vote for the Green Party because they disagreed with their green policies (20%), falling to just one in eight among Labour voters (12%) and those aged 18-34 (12%).
A quarter of those aged 18-34 who said they would not consider voting Green said so on account of not knowing anything about them (26%), indicating increased visibility may be a potential route to picking up younger voters.
UK adults are split on whether the Green Party’s main focus should be on bringing about change by getting elected to positions of power (34%), or by pressuring other parties more likely to get elected (35%).
Labour voters are the most likely to say that the Green’s focus should be on pressuring other parties (43%).
Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta ComRes said, “With both Labour and the Liberal Democrats appearing stagnant in their challenge to the Conservatives, and with the ever-present topic of climate change and the environment dominating the news agenda ahead of COP26, many feel that the foundations are prime for the Green Party to gain traction.
And, despite the Green’s hovering around the 5-6% mark in our Westminster Voting Intention, this new polling suggests that it might not take much for voters, particularly younger ones and those perhaps disaffected by Labour’s own green credentials, to make the switch.”
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