Climate concern is the main draw for the Greens, but 50% of those who would consider voting for them worry they’d be a wasted vote
The Green Party have made significant gains in the last few years, establishing themselves as a major force in local government and achieving their best ever general election result last July, winning four MPs and 7% of the vote. They have not lost their momentum since, with YouGov’s latest voting intention polls placing the party on 9%.
But what is attracting people to the party and how do Britons feel about their future?
Who is considering voting Green?
One in five Britons (21%) say they would consider voting for the Green Party at a future election, including three in ten of those who voted for Labour (30%) or the Lib Dems (31%) at last year’s general election.
The party is more attractive to younger Britons, with 36% of 18-24 year olds and 27% of 25-49 year olds saying they would contemplate voting Green, compared to 15% of 50-64 year olds and just 10% of those aged 65 and over. Men and women are equally likely to consider the Greens.
Willingness to consider voting Green is highest in London, with 27% of Londoners saying they would be open to voting for the party in the future, and lowest in Scotland at 13% - although it is worth noting that the Scottish Greens are a distinct party from the Green Party of England and Wales.
What attracts people to the Green Party?
To find out what is attracting so many Britons to the Greens, we asked those who would consider voting for them to tell us in their own words what most attracts them to the Greens, with the results then categorised by YouGov’s AI-powered Topic Quantifier model.
By a clear margin, the most common draw for the party is their prioritisation of climate change, which half (49%) of those considering voting Green say is the main factor that attracts them to the party. These potential Greens see them as “the only party that seems to take the climate crisis seriously” and are interested in their “strong stances on environmental and climate policy”.
But it’s not just climate concerns that are aiding the Green’s gains. Their wider policy platform is the main attraction for 9% of considerers, while a further 8% see the fact that the Green’s values align most with their own as the top reason they would consider voting for the party.
Some also specifically single out the party’s progressive stance as firing their interest in the Greens, with 6% saying it is their left-wing ideology that is the Greens’ main attraction, including those who stress it is the fact they are “left leaning but disappointed with Labour” as the reason they are considering the Greens. This is alongside another 6% of considerers who are most attracted by the party’s social responsibility.
One in seven Green considerers (13%) say that it is the fact that they are distinct to other parties that is their most attractive quality in the Green Party. This tendency to “seem different to the main parties” and being “not Labour or Conservative” is a pull they share with Reform UK.
What are people’s reservations about the Green Party?
The key challenge for the Greens is converting the 21% of Britons who are considerers into committed voters. Central to this is alleviating their concerns about the party, as just 9% of Green considerers (amounting to only 2% of Britons) say they have no reservations in voting for them.
The most common reservation about the Greens is that the party are too small and would be a wasted vote, with half (50%) of those considering the party saying is the main thing that makes them think twice about voting for them.
But some of those open to voting for the party are instead most put off by the party’s inexperience, with 8% of those who would consider voting for the party saying the party’s lack of governing experience is their main issue with the party, alongside 5% who worry they would not be prepared to handle the economy.
Some also have concerns about certain aspects of the Green platform, with 8% of considerers saying their main hurdle in voting for the party is their lack of focus on issues beyond the environment, while a further 6% say they are less keen on the party’s policies beyond the environment. This is on top of 5% who worry they would not be prepared to handle the economy, 3% who view the party as too radical and 2% who specifically identify the Green’s anti-nuclear stance as an issue.
How do voters feel about the future of the Greens?
If the Greens are able to ease some of these concerns and make further gains in a future election, it will put them a step closer to being in government, which would likely be as part of a coalition. Such an outcome would put them on a par with their sister parties in many western European countries.
Britons are divided on how they would see the Greens entering the government. While it would be seen as a positive move for a third of the country (33%), a further 30% of Britons would feel negatively towards the Greens being part of a coalition, while 25% wouldn’t have strong views either way.
Beyond the Greens, who are unsurprisingly largely positive (83%) about such the prospect, around half of Lib Dem (52%) and Labour voters (49%) would be happy to see the Greens enter government.
An alternative route to solving perceptions that they’re a small party, seen as a wasted vote, might be to merge with another progressive party, such as the Lib Dems.
While no proposals have been seriously discussed, unlike the suggestions for a merger of the Conservatives and Reform UK, a unification of the Lib Dems and the Greens is not without support among the two parties’ voter bases. Half of Lib Dem and Green voters (51%) would support a merger of the two parties, against 34% of Greens and 21% of Lib Dems who would oppose such a union.
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