YouGov poll puts Greens second on 21% ahead of Labour as Reform leads on 23%

<p>The Green Party has moved into second place ahead of Labour in a new YouGov Westminster voting intention poll, in a significant shift in the party political landscape less than two years after Labour&rsquo;s landslide general election victory.</p> <p>The poll, conducted by YouGov for Sky News and The Times, puts Reform UK in first place on 23%, down one point on the previous survey. The Greens are second on 21%, up four points, while Labour has fallen to 16%, down two points, level with the Conservatives on 16%, also down two. The Liberal Democrats are unchanged on 14%.</p> <p>Sky News said it was the first time the Greens had placed second in YouGov&rsquo;s regular Westminster voting intention series, and the 21% score represents the party&rsquo;s highest ever recorded by the pollster. For Labour, the figures mark a new low in recent YouGov polling while in government.</p> <p>The survey was carried out across 1&ndash;2 March among 2,073 adults, with changes measured against YouGov&rsquo;s previous poll. As with all single polls, the results are a snapshot of opinion at one moment and may be subject to normal polling variation.</p> <p>The rise for the Greens follows a high-profile by-election breakthrough in Manchester last week. On 26 February, the Green candidate Hannah Spencer won the Gorton and Denton by-election with about 41% of the vote, pushing Labour into third place in what had been regarded as one of the party&rsquo;s safest seats. The victory took the Greens to five MPs and delivered the party its first Westminster seat in northern England.</p> <p>Anthony Wells, YouGov&rsquo;s head of political polling, linked the Green surge to voters increasingly seeing the party as a viable choice. He said the change appeared to reflect &ldquo;the Greens appearing to be a more viable option and less of a wasted vote&rdquo;.</p> <p>The latest poll suggests the Greens are now particularly strong among younger voters. Among 18&ndash;24 year olds, 49% said they would vote Green, according to figures cited by Sky News. Among those aged 25&ndash;49, the Greens were also the leading party on 27%.</p> <p>The polling points to further fragmentation among people who backed Labour at the 2024 general election. Among 2024 Labour voters, 37% said they would vote Labour again, while 25% said they would now vote Green. A further 8% said they would vote Liberal Democrat, and 20% were undecided or said they would not vote.</p> <p>The numbers are likely to increase pressure on Labour&rsquo;s leadership over the party&rsquo;s political direction, with the government facing challenges on both flanks: Reform continues to lead overall, while the Greens appear to be consolidating discontent on the left.</p> <p>There was an immediate rebuttal from within government. Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, described the Greens as &ldquo;the populist of the left&rdquo; and argued they did not have &ldquo;credible plans&rdquo;, in comments reported by Sky News.</p> <p>The Green Party, meanwhile, sought to frame the result as evidence it is replacing Labour as the main vehicle for change. In a statement carried by Sky News, the party said: &ldquo;Gorton and Denton showed that if people vote Green, they can get Green&hellip; voters want change and increasingly see the Greens as [the] party to break the failed status quo.&rdquo;</p> <p>The poll also comes amid wider political volatility, including heightened tensions in the Middle East and renewed debate about the UK&rsquo;s stance on US-led military action involving Iran. The Financial Times has reported that dissatisfaction with Labour&rsquo;s positioning on the issue has been a factor in the Greens&rsquo; recent momentum, noting that public support for the US offensive stood at 28%.</p> <p>Economists and political strategists have also pointed to a difficult domestic backdrop for the government, with concerns over growth, unemployment and the tax burden fuelling voter restlessness. While no single poll can determine whether a change is durable, the pattern in this survey suggests the governing party&rsquo;s coalition remains under strain, particularly among younger voters.</p> <p>Reform&rsquo;s 23% keeps the party in first place, though it is down slightly on YouGov&rsquo;s previous reading and below peaks above 29% recorded last year, according to earlier reporting. Separate polling earlier this year by Ipsos had put Reform as high as 30%, underscoring the extent to which the right-of-centre vote has been reshaped since 2024.</p> <p>For Labour, the immediate question is whether the Greens&rsquo; advance proves to be a short-lived post-by-election &ldquo;bounce&rdquo; or the beginning of a longer-term realignment. Further tracking polls over the coming weeks are expected to show whether the Greens can hold their gains and whether Labour can recover ground after being overtaken by a party that, until recently, had been a minor presence at Westminster.</p>