Green Party membership has reportedly overtaken that of UKIP.
Green Party membership has reportedly overtaken that of UKIP
As of today, membership of combined UK Green parties stands at 43,829. UKIP has 41,966 members.
The Greens are devolved into three parties, and have 35,481 members in England and Wales, 322 in Northern Ireland and 8,026 in Scotland.
On 13 January a YouGov poll put the Green Party of England and Wales on 22 per cent among young people. This means that they are tied at second place with the Conservatives among 18-24 year-old voters.
The Greens are currently polling at the highest levels ahead of a General Election since 1989. Yesterday, they gained 2,000 new members, a surge unprecedented in volume and speed.
The party in England and Wales will stand candidates in 75 per cent of seats in May. That means 50 per cent more people will be able to vote Green in this election than in the last.
Leader Natalie Bennett told London live that “there was an hour yesterday when a new person was joining every 10 seconds.” The media coverage placing the Greens ahead of UKIP is likely to have contributed to the surge.
In light of this, the party’s continued snub by the ITV Leaders’ Debates looks even more ludicrous. Yesterday Bennett wrote a letter to Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage urging them to agree to include the Greens in the debates.
She said that the presence of the Greens would ‘appeal to a wider audience – particularly amongst young people’.
The next few weeks will be crucial for the Greens as their membership numbers continue to determine how seriously they are taken by voters.
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and to make the biggest impact we can in the next general election, we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 124 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.
8 Responses to “Green Party gains 2,000 new members in 24 hours”
Paul Jeater
There was no general election in 1989, the result you refer to was the European Parliament election of 1989 when the Green party polled 15%. Sadly this eleection was fought using first past the post and the Green Party won no seats in the EP that year
Leon Wolfeson
I won’t take you seriously as long as you have your anti-poor, anti-science positions.
There’s a reason the left and the greens have different parties in countries with PR.
swat
Flipping heck! At that rate 365 x 2000 = 730 000, woul;d make Nat Queen.
The fact is many Greens would have joined the Co-op Party but for their ties with Labour; and that figure would have dropped to a respectable 100 000, outstripping the Lib Dems, making the Greens the Party of Protest. But, if you want to get anything done, then its best to join Labour and the Coop Party.
Leon Wolfeson
If you support Labour, and their agenda, which means austerity, etc.
I don’t, so won’t. I wasn’t a Labour party member, but I was at one time a Coop party member, who was one of the members who left when they voted to keep the Labour link.
Mike B
It was a very hot summers evening and our local Labour GC was completely filling the party premises so the street door was left open. Suddenly in walked someone the worse from drink (or drugs). “I’m a member of the Green Party” he declared. The member nearest the door courteously informed him it was an internal Labour party meeting but in the future he of course could apply to join, which who knows he may well do. Perhaps a Green surge is just a fashion statement.