Why Labour should be worried by the rise of the Greens
Can the Green party cope with the surge in members it says it’s enjoying? I only ask because, to research this blog, I clicked on the membership section of the party’s website, and found it down for “some unplanned maintenance”.
Still, it’s clearly a good problem to have, and the Greens are cock-a-hoop. They claim to have more members than Ukip after an overnight surge of 2,000 new joiners in England and Wales. They now have 43,829 and counting, against Ukip’s 41,966.
And that dramatic change in their fortunes is matched by soaring poll ratings. They’re consistently placed neck and neck with or even ahead of the Liberal Democrats, on around 7 per cent. If this performance is sustained, it’s quite a turnaround for a party which only won one per cent of the vote at the last election.
(Green MP Caroline Lucas)
I suspect some of the very recent groundswell of support is because people love an underdog, and the sight of the main political parties excluding the Greens from the planned TV election debates has sparked a sense of injustice among some Brits.
They’re also benefiting from the now-familiar disillusionment with mainstream politicians – an ennui that has also helped Nigel Farage. But the kind of voters now toying with the Greens are unlikely ever to be tempted by Ukip. The party says YouGov polling puts it in joint second place among 18-24 year-olds, for example.
Labour MPs fret that the new Greens are erstwhile Labour backers, and they’re increasingly worried. A perusal of the party website suggests they’re right to be concerned.
If you thought the Greens were all about what David Cameron is supposed to have called the “green crap”, think again. Under the heading “what we stand for”, the pitch to voters focuses cannily on the health service, improving education, and addressing the housing crisis. Only after that does climate change get a mention, in passing, before an appeal to the disenchanted who “feel let down by politicians”.
There’s plenty of evidence Labour hasn’t sealed the deal with the electorate, and that many are sceptical about giving Ed Miliband the keys to No. 10. Before Christmas, YouGov reported that the Labour leader’s approval rating had dropped to an all-time low of minus 55.
So when the Greens lambast “austerity and welfare cuts” and bang on about “privatisation of essential services”, it’s traditional Labour voters who may well be sitting up and listening.
The nightmare for Mr Miliband is he’s now under attack from the SNP in Scotland and the Greens elsewhere. No wonder David Cameron can’t stop talking about giving the Green leader Natalie Bennett a place in the leaders’ debates.
Now he’s no longer interested in hugging huskies he’s doesn’t much care for her message, but he knows that giving her voice – or even musing about doing so – can only cause Labour pain.
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