*Green Party will be standing candidates in at least 75% of seats at the 2015 General Election.
*Green Party membership has grown 28% in 2014. Membership of the Young Greens is up 70%.
Ahead of the 2015 General Election, the Green Party is polling on 7% and neck and neck with the Liberal Democrats, the Coalition partners. The latest Guardian/ICM poll (1) has the Greens on 7%, representing some of the party’s best polling ahead of a General Election since 1989, a breakthrough year.
The Guardian/ICM polling is consistent with upbeat polling since the May 22nd European and Local Elections and follows the Greens’ biggest ever Autumn Party Conference (2), which was held at Conference Aston, Birmingham, between September 5th and 8th.
Green Party politicians and officials are engaged in ongoing conversations with both broadcasters and pollsters to ensure that the party's consistently strong showing in the polls is both reflected in the presentation of polling results and level of media coverage of the party ahead of the election. The Green Party believes no party which is consistently polling around 7% should be relegated to an 'others' box.
Reacting to the Green surge in the polls, Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader, said:
“The fact that the Green Party are consistently polling at some of our best numbers since 1989 goes to show that our message of the need to reshape our politics and economy to work for the common good is really hitting home.
“It is our policies such as a wealth tax on the top 1%, setting a target of a £10 minimum wage by 2020, bringing rail back into public hands and having a publicly owned and run NHS that are both encouraging people to join as members (3) and vote Green in growing numbers.
“Despite comparatively limited media attention, more and more people are recognising that only the Greens offer the real change that British politics and British society so desperately needs. They are rightly fed up with the three old, tired, business-as-usual parties.
“The Tories, Labour, Lib Dems and Ukip receive much larger donations - which allows them to comfortably out-spend us on political advertising – but Greens up and down the country are working tirelessly to share Green values and policies with the people they do and will represent. It is these efforts that have us polling neck and neck with the Lib Dems.
Last month, the Greens posted their best ever showing in the ‘poll of polls’ compiled by John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, for the Independent (4).
Support for the Green Party amongst young people is surging; membership of the Young Greens has grown by 70% (5) since March this year alone, with overall membership up 28% this year (6).
NOTES:
5. http://younggreens.org.uk/news/2014/08/06/the-young-greens’-letter-in-the-guardian-today/
6. http://greenparty.org.uk/news/2014/09/05/green-party-leader-natalie-bennett’s-autumn-party-conference-keynote-speech/