On 13 November 1972 at the Bridge Pub in Napton, near Coventry, the foundations of what would later become the Green Party of England and Wales were laid. After reading an article about climate change in Playboy magazine, a “Gang of Four” – Tony and Lesley Whittaker, Michael Benfield and Freda Sanders – decided to found their own political party. It was initially called PEOPLE but by 1990 had adopted a new moniker: the Greens.
Originally a niche, climate-focused party, the Green Party has slowly grown; it won its first MP, Caroline Lucas, in 2010 in Brighton Pavilion, and in the last general election it won three more. But never in the party’s more than 40-year history has it sustained the levels of recognition it has today.
In the three months since the election of Zack Polanski – the self-described “eco-populist” – the party has grown by 165 per cent (from 68,000 on 2 September, to 184,000 as of 17 December). The Greens regularly poll at around 15 per cent – the first time they have breached double digits – and is gaining on the Labour Party (who according to Ipsos are sitting on around 18 per cent).
And in the past week, the Greens have seen several defections to the party, bolstering its showing across councils in London. On Monday 15 December, five councillors joined party from Labour – 50 councillors have defected this year. Lloyd Russell-Moyle, a former Corbynite Labour MP, defected to the Green Party in November (as revealed by the New Statesman). On Wednesday 17 December, Jamie Driscoll, the former Labour Mayor of North of Tyne, announced that he has now joined the Greens and plans to run for the party in the local elections in Newcastle in May.
With increased recognition and political influence comes increased responsibility. There is a chance that this insurgent force on the left could be an important progressive force at the next election, and may need to choose whether to team up with other parties – such as Labour or the Liberal Democrats, both of which have experience of national government – in order to fend off the rise of Reform.
According to party insiders, a deep programme of professionalisation has been going on since last year; the party has hired several ex-Labour staffers and is working on improving internal processes to accommodate for its rapid growth. This operation began ahead of Polanski’s election. In June, Harriet Lamb, the former chief executive of Fairtrade, was hired to do the same role for the Green Party. The party’s chief executive reports to the Green Party Executive (GPEx) which is made up of the chair, the party’s leader, the deputy leaders and other elected members. The chief executive of the Green Party is a non-voting member of GPEx.
Speaking exclusively to the New Statesman, Lamb described her new organisation as “a 40-year-old startup”. She added: “We’ve got deep roots and deep expertise, and people who’ve worked with their communities across the whole country for the past four decades.” How to beat Reform is “dominating” the party’s thinking, Lamb said, as well as working out how to “provide an alternative to the current government which is letting people down.”
To do that, Lamb has seven priorities – one of which includes growing the party’s membership. “We’re doing a brilliant job in reaching out to people who haven’t historically joined the party and actually now are coming to the Greens and saying, ‘I feel so desperate and you’ve given me hope. That’s why I am joining.’”
The party’s sights are obviously currently set on May, when several councils across the UK – including all London boroughs – have all-out local elections. The Senedd elections and elections to the Scottish Parliament will also take place in May. This will be the first electoral test of Polanski’s “bold politics”. The Green Party head of elections and deputy chief executive, Chris Williams, reportedly has a countdown to May on his desk while his other colleagues have decorated theirs with advent calendars. The party is hoping to make gains in Wales (a recent poll predicted the party could win four seats, its biggest showing in the Senedd yet). Green candidates also look likely to do damage to Labour strongholds in London and look well set in the race for the mayoralties of Hackney, Lewisham and Newham.
One element the party hopes will aid in this drive is its increase in funding. The New Statesman can exclusively reveal that the party’s annual budget has doubled since Polanski was elected from £5m in 2025 to £10m in 2026 (to put this in context, Reform received a £9m donation in one day from the crypto investor Christopher Harborne in August this year). It will use this money to substantially increase its hiring budget, and hopes to grow the organisation by more than 70 per cent.
“The increase in finance is incredible,” Lamb said, “it comes overwhelmingly in small amounts from our membership.” Members pay a regular fee to the party but are also invited to give the party a top-up. The Greens have had recent success from a donations drive, led by Polanski, which saw 8,000 people help to raise a quarter of a million pounds following a Christmas Carol-themed campaign video featuring the leader himself.
The Greens’ position on external donations is more complicated than other parties. Polanski has often used the Green stance as a clear dividing line from Labour. Speaking to the New Statesman in October, he described the party as being “corporate captured” which in his view, makes it far harder for it to stride out on more radical policies But the Green Party is growing in popularity and influence and may receive larger donations. The party has a due diligence process once donations go over £11,000. “We would never take money from anyone who’s made their money from fossil fuels, for example,” Lamb said. “There are many people who have made their money in ethical ways and are ready to support the Greens.”
There are just over five months to go until next year’s elections when the Green Party’s growing success will be tested with the public. A lot of work is going on behind the scenes to ensure this burgeoning new force on the left is ready.
[Further reading: “It’s between us and Reform”: The Lib Dem plan to win in 2026]
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