TheGreen Party of England and Wales (GPEW;Welsh:Plaid Werdd Lloegr a Chymru[7]), often known simply as theGreen Party or theGreens, is agreen,left-wing[8][9] political party inEngland andWales. Since September 2025,Zack Polanski has served as the party's leader. The party currently has four representatives in theHouse of Commons and two in theHouse of Lords, in addition to more than 860 councillors at thelocal government level and three members of theLondon Assembly.
The party's ideology combinesenvironmentalism with left-wing economic policies, including well-funded and locally controlled public services. It advocates asteady-state economy with theregulation of capitalism, and supportsproportional representation. It takes aprogressive approach to social policies such ascivil liberties,animal rights,LGBTQ rights anddrug policy reform. The party also supports auniversal basic income, aliving wage anddemocratic participation. It has taken a pro-immigration stance.[10][11][12][13][14] It is split into various regional divisions, including the semi-autonomousWales Green Party[15] and is internationally affiliated with theGlobal Greens and theEuropean Green Party.[16]
In 1990, what was then the UK-wideGreen Party – which had initially been established as thePEOPLE Party in 1973 – divided into the Green Party of England and Wales, theScottish Greens and theGreen Party Northern Ireland.[17] Since 1990, they have been three completely separate and unique political parties, with their own separate leaders, memberships and policies.[18] The Green Party of England and Wales went throughcentralising reforms spearheaded by theGreen 2000 group in early 1991[19] and also sought to emphasise growth in local governance, doing so throughout 1990. In 2010, the party gained its firstmember of Parliament in its then-leaderCaroline Lucas[20] (althoughPlaid Cymru'sCynog Dafis was elected on ajoint ticket in the 1990s). As the party's support is spread out across England and Wales and has rarely been found in electorally significant clusters, the party held only one seat in theHouse of Commons from 2010 to 2019, before reaching four seats in 2024. The Green Party supports replacing the UK'sfirst-past-the-post voting system withproportional representation, which would grant all parties a share of seats in Parliament based on their national vote share. The party saw a significant increase of support since 2025 from voters dissatisfied with theLabour Party.[21][22]
The Green Party of England and Wales has its origins in thePEOPLE Party, which was founded inCoventry in November 1972.[23] It was renamed to theEcology Party in 1975;[24] in 1985, the party changed its name to theGreen Party.[25] In 1989, the party's Scottish branch evolved to establish the independentScottish Green Party, while the Green Party inNorthern Ireland is a northern branch of theGreen Party of the Republic of Ireland, leaving the branches in England and Wales to form their own party.[26] The Green Party of England and Wales is registered with theElectoral Commission, only as "the Green Party".[27] In the1989 European Parliament elections, the Green Party polled 15% of the vote with 2.3 million votes, the best performance of a "green" party in a nationwide election.[28] This election gave the Green Party the third-largest share of the vote after theConservative and Labour parties; because of thefirst-past-the-post voting system, however, it failed to gain a seat.[29] Many say the success of the party is due to increased respect forenvironmentalism and the effects of the development boom insouthern England in the late 1980s.[30]
Seeking to capitalise on the Greens' success in the European Parliament elections, a group namedGreen 2000 was established in July 1990, arguing for an internal reorganisation of the party in order to develop it into an active electoral force capable of securing seats in the House of Commons.[31] Its proposed reforms included a more centralised structure, the replacement of the existing party council with a smaller party executive, and the establishment ofdelegate voting at party conferences.[32] Many party members opposed the reforms, believing that they would undermine the party's internal democracy and, amid the arguments, some members left the party.[33] Although Green 2000 proposals were defeated at the party's 1990 conference, they were overwhelmingly carried at their 1991 conference, resulting in an internal restructuring of the party.[34] Between the end of 1990 and mid-1992, the party lost over half its members, with those polled indicating that frustration over a lack of clear and effective party leadership was a significant reason in their decision.[35] The party fielded more candidates than it had ever done before in the1992 general election but performed poorly, although it did win its first seat with the election ofCynog Dafis inCeredigion and Pembroke North, who stood on ajoin ticket withPlaid Cymru.[36] In 1993, the party adopted its "Basis for Renewal" program in an attempt to bring together conflicting factions and thus saved the party from bankruptcy and potential demise.[37] The party sought to escape its reputation as an environmentalistsingle-issue party by placing greater emphasis on social policies.[38]
Recognising their poor performance in the 1992 national election, the party decided to focus on gaining support in local elections, targeting wards where there was a pre-existing support base of Green activists.[37] In 1993, future party leader and MPCaroline Lucas gained a seat inOxfordshire County Council,[39] with other gains following in the 1995 and 1996 local elections.[37]
The Greens sought to build alliances with other parties in the hope of gaining representation at the parliamentary level.[40] In Wales, the Greens endorsedPlaid Cymru candidateCynog Dafis in the 1992 general election, having worked with him on several environmental initiatives.[40] and he was duly elected on ajoint ticket.[41][42] For the1997 general election, the Ceredigion branch of the Greens endorsed Dafis as a joint Plaid Cymru/Green candidate, but this generated controversy with the party, with critics believing it improper to build an alliance with a party that did not share all of the Greens' views. In April 1995, the Green National Executive ruled that the party should withdraw from this alliance due to ideological differences.[40]
As the Labour Party shifted to thepolitical centre under the leadership ofTony Blair and hisNew Labour project, the Greens sought to gain the support of the party's disaffected leftists.[43]
During the1999 European Parliament elections, the first to be held in the UK usingproportional representation, the Greens gained their firstMembers of the European Parliament (MEPs),Caroline Lucas (South East England) andJean Lambert (London).[44] At theinaugural London Assembly elections in 2000, the party gained 11% of the vote and returned threeAssembly Members (AMs).[45] Although this dropped to two following the2004 London Assembly elections, the Green AMs proved vital in passing the annual budget of former MayorKen Livingstone.[43]
At the2001 general election, they polled 0.7% of the vote and gained no seats.[46] At the2004 European Parliamentary elections, the party returned two MEPs the same as in 1999; overall, the party polled 1,033,093 votes.[47] In the2005 general election, the party gained more than 1% of the vote for the first time and polled more than 10% in the constituencies ofBrighton Pavilion andLewisham Deptford.[48] This growth was due in part to the increasing public visibility of the party as well as growth in support for smaller parties in the UK.[48]
In November 2007, the party held an internal referendum to decide on whether it should replace its use of two "principal speakers", one male and the other female, with the more conventional roles of "leader" and "deputy leader"; the motion passed with 73% of the vote.[49] In September 2008, the party then elected its first leader,Caroline Lucas,[49] withAdrian Ramsay elected deputy leader.[50] In the party's first election with Lucas as leader, it retained both its MEPs in the2009 European elections.[51]
In the2010 general election, the party returned its first MP. Lucas was returned as MP for the seat ofBrighton Pavilion.[52] Following the election,Keith Taylor succeeded her as MEP for South East England. They also saved their deposit inHove, andBrighton Kemptown.[53]
In the2011 local government elections in England and Wales, the Green Party in Brighton and Hove took minority control of theCity Council by winning 23 seats, five short of an overall majority.[54]
At the2012 local government elections, the Green Party gained five seats and retained both AMs at the2012 London Assembly election. At the2012 London mayoral election, the party's candidateJenny Jones finished third; she lost her deposit.[55]
In May 2012, Lucas announced that she would not seek re-election to the post of party leader.[56] In September, Australian-born former journalistNatalie Bennett was elected party leader andWill Duckworth deputy leader in theleadership election took place. Bennett would take the party further to the left, aiming to make it an anti-austerity party to the left of the Labour Party.[57][58][59]
The2013 local government elections saw overall gains of five seats. The party returned representation for the first time on the councils of Cornwall, Devon, and Essex. At thelocal government elections the following year, the Greens gained 18 seats overall.[60] In London, the party won four seats, a gain of two. It held seats inCamden[61] andLewisham,[62] and gaining seats inIslington[63] andLambeth.[64]
In 2013, there were allegations of factionalism and infighting in the party between liberal,socialist, and eco-anarchist factions.[65]
At the2014 European elections, the Green Party finished fourth, above theLiberal Democrats, winning more than 1.2 million votes.[66] The party also increased its European Parliament representation, gaining one seat in theSouth West England region.[67]
In September 2014, the Green Party held its2014 leadership elections. Incumbent leader Bennett ran uncontested and retained her status as a party leader. The election also saw a change in the elective format for the position of deputy leader. The party opted to elect two, gender-balanced deputy leaders, instead of one.Amelia Womack andShahrar Ali won the two positions, succeeding former deputy leader Duckworth.[68][unreliable source]
In the 2010 general election, the Green Party contested roughly 50% of seats. The party announced in October 2014 that Green candidates would be standing for parliament in at least 75% of constituencies in the 2015 general election.[69] Following its rapid increase in membership and support, the Green Party also announced it was targeting twelve key seats for the 2015 general election: its one current seat,Brighton Pavilion, held by Lucas since 2010,Norwich South, a Liberal Democrat seat where June 2014 polling put the Greens in second place behind Labour,[70]Bristol West, another Liberal Democrat seat, where they targeted the student vote,St. Ives, where they received an average of 18% of the vote in county elections,Sheffield Central,Liverpool Riverside,Oxford East,Solihull,Reading East, and three more seats with high student populations –York Central,Cambridge, andHolborn and St. Pancras, where leader Bennett stood as the candidate.[71]
In December 2014, the Green Party announced that it had more than doubled its overall membership from 1 January that year to 30,809.[72] This reflected the increase seen in opinion polls in 2014, with Green Party voting intentions trebling from 2–3% at the start of the year, to 7–8% at the end of the year, on many occasions, coming in fourth place withYouGov's national polls, ahead of the Liberal Democrats, and gaining more than 25% of the vote with 18 to 24-year-olds.[73][74] This rapid increase in support for the party is referred to by media as the "Green Surge".[75][76][77] The hashtag "#GreenSurge" has also been popular on social media (such asTwitter) from Green Party members and supporters[78] and, as of 15 January 2015[update], the combined Green Party membership in the UK stood at 44,713; greater than the number of members ofUKIP (at 41,943), and the Liberal Democrats (at 44,576).[79]
Views subsequently fell back as the2015 general election opinion polls arrived:[80] a Press Association poll of polls on 3 April, for example, put the Greens fifth with 5.4%.[81] However, membership statistics continued to surge, with the party attaining 60,000 in England and Wales that April.
At the2015 general election, Lucas was re-elected in Brighton Pavilion with an increased majority, but the party did not win any other seats. In part due to the greatly increased the number of contested seats of 538 from the 310 at the 2010 election, the Greens received their highest-ever vote share (more than 1.1 million votes), and increased their national share of the vote from 1% to 3.8%.[82] Overnight, the membership numbers increased to more than 63,000.[83] However, at the local government elections the party lost 9 out of their 20 seats on the Brighton and Hove council, losing minority control.[84] Nationwide, the Greens increased their share of councillors, gaining an additional 10 council seats while failing to gain overall control of any individual council.[85]
On 15 May 2016, Bennett announced she would not be standing for re-election in the party's biennialleadership election due to take place in the summer.[86] Former leader Lucas and Jonathan Bartley announced two weeks later that they intended to stand for leadership as ajob share arrangement.[87] Nominations closed at the end of June, with the campaign period taking place in July and voting period in August and the results announced at the party's Autumn Conference in Birmingham from 2–4 September. It was announced on 4 September that Lucas and Bartley would become the party's leaders in a job share.[88]
Lucas first suggested "progressive pacts" to work on a number of issues including combating climate change and for electoral reform, following the results of the2015 general election.[89] She then reiterated the call alongside Bartley as they announced their plan to share the leadership of the party.[87] Following thevote to leave theEuropean Union in June 2016, Bennett published an open letter, calling for an "anti-Brexit alliance" potentially comprising Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru to stand in a future snap election in English and Welsh seats.[90] The Green Party stood in 457 seats in the2017 general election, securing 1.6% of the overall vote, and an average of 2.2% in seats it stood in.[91] While it was a disappointing result after the 2015 success, this was still the second-best Green result in a general election, andBrighton Pavilion remained Green with an increased majority.
On 30 May 2018, Lucas announced she would not seek re-election in the2018 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election and would stand down as co-leader.[92] On 1 June 2018, Bartley announced a co-leadership bid alongsideSiân Berry, former candidate for the Mayor of London in 2008 and 2016.[93]
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Bartley and Berry wereelected as co-leaders in September 2018, winning 6,279 of 8,329 votes.[94] In the2019 local elections, the Green Party secured their best ever local election result, more than doubling their number of council seats from 178 to 372 councillors.[95] This success was followed by a similarly successful European election where Greens won (including Scottish Greens and the Green Party in Northern Ireland) more than two million votes for the first time since 1989, securing 7 MEPs, up from 3. This included winning seats for the first time in the East of England, North West England, West Midlands and Yorkshire & the Humber.[96]
The membership also saw another climb in 2019, returning to 50,000 members in September.[97]
In September 2020, it was announced that Bartley and Berry hadwon re-election for another two-year term.[98]
In the2021 local elections, the Green Party gained their first ever councillors inNorthumberland andStockport, as well as making significant gains inSuffolk andSheffield.[99] In total 88 seats were gained,[100] challenging the Liberal Democrats to become England's third-largest party.[101]
In July 2021, Bartley announced that he would stand down at the end of the month to give the party time to choose new leadership before the next general election. This triggered the2021 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election.[102] Berry remained as acting leader, but said she would not stand in the leadership election following disagreements within the party.[103]
The Bristol councillor,Carla Denyer and the former deputy leader,Adrian Ramsay wereelected as co-leaders on 1 October 2021.[104] Ramsay stated that "People are looking for a positive alternative to the establishment parties, and finding it in the Greens"; in the first national electoral test of the new leadership in the2022 local elections the Green Party made a net gain of 71 seats – including in both Conservative and Labour "safe seats".[105]
On 7 September 2022, it was announced thatZack Polanski had been elected as the party's new deputy leader, defeating three election opponents and replacing Amelia Womack, who chose not to re-stand for the position in the election.[106]
In October 2022, at their national conference theScottish Greens voted to sever ties with the Green Party of England and Wales, specially over the issue oftransphobia.[107] In response the Green Party of England and Wales said that trans rights are human rights, that it has strong policies of trans inclusion and that a goal of the party is to be welcoming, inclusive and promote diversity. The party also said it would continue to support the rights of trans people, women and oppressed groups.[108] The LGBTIQA+ Greens also responded by saying it would "continue to fight transphobia".[109]
At the2023 local elections, the Green Party gained more than 200 councillors across England, andwon majority control ofMid Suffolk District Council, the party's first ever council majority.[110] Despite losing control ofBrighton and Hove City Council, the Greens became the largest party onEast Hertfordshire District Council,Warwick District Council andLewes District Council.[111][112][113] 2023 saw the party's best ever results in a local election.[114]
In the2024 local elections, the Greens aimed to make gains inStroud,Hastings andWorcester.[115] In the south west the Greensbecame the largest party onBristol City Council failing to win an outright majority by a single seat.[116][117] They made a breakthrough inNorthern England by winning their first ever seats onNewcastle City Council[118] andSefton Council.[119] It was noted that the Greens benefited from anger at Labour over theIsrael–Gaza war when they won their first seat onBolton Council.[120] After gaining 74 seats across England and increasing their total to 812, the Greens hailed 2024 as their best ever local election result.[121]
On 8 June 2023, the Green Party's only MP,Caroline Lucas, announced she would not be standing for re-election at the2024 general election.[122] Former party co-leader,Siân Berry, stood as the Green candidate inBrighton Pavilion.[123] Along with Brighton Pavilion, the Greens targeted three other seats in the general election:Bristol Central,Waveney Valley andNorth Herefordshire.[124] In what turned out to be the Greens' best ever general election, Berry held Brighton Pavilion, while Denyer gained Bristol Central, defeating Labour incumbent andShadow Culture SecretaryThangam Debbonaire;[125] Ramsay won Waveney Valley, a notional gain from the Conservatives,[126] andEllie Chowns won North Herefordshire, defeating Conservative incumbentBill Wiggin.[127]
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Carla Denyer stepped down as Green Party co-leader to focus on her MP role, as leadership nominations opened on 2 June 2025 with voting running through August 2025. Deputy leaderZack Polanski launched his bid, calling for a bolder party approach.[128]
The results were announced on 2 September 2025, Polanski had won the leadership by a landslide, winning 84.1% of the vote,[129] and marking the first time an incumbent leader of the Green Party was defeated in a leadership election.[130] On the same day, the membership of the Green Party was announced to have grown to 68,500 members, its highest on record.[130]
On 15 October, theNew Statesman reported that the party had grown to 110,000 members, with its membership having grown by 55% since Polanski's election as leader.[131] Four days later, membership hit 130,000, taking the Greens ahead of the Conservatives.[132] As of 30 October, membership stands at 150,000.[133]
Sociologist Chris Rootes stated in 1995 that the Green Party took "theleft-libertarian" vote,[134] andJames Dennison characterised it in 2016 as reflecting "libertarian-universalistic values".[135] The party wants an end tobig government, which it sees as hindering open and transparent democracy, instead devolving and decentralising power to a more local level. They also want to limit the power ofbig business, which, they argue, upholds the unsustainable trend ofglobalisation, and is detrimental to local trade and economies.[136]
The Green Party publishes aparty platform: a full set of its policies, as approved by successive party conferences, collectively entitledPolicies for a Sustainable Society (originallyThe Manifesto for a Sustainable Society before February 2010).[137]
The party publishes amanifesto for each of its election campaigns.[137] Separate from this, the Greens have a set of Core Values,[138] a Philosophical Basis[139] and a series of Long-term Goals.[140]
For the2015 general election, the party's manifesto outlined many new policies, including aRobin Hood tax on banks and a 60% tax on those earning more than £150,000.[141]
For the2019 general election, the party's manifesto had four key sections: "remain and transform", which advocated for the UK to reverse itsdecision to leave the EU and increase cross-border co-operation with the EU; "grow democracy", which aimed to overhaul the UK'scurrent voting system and rebalance government power by lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 and redefining the jurisdiction of local governments; the "green quality of life guarantee", which addressed social issues such as housing, theNHS, education, countryside conservation, discrimination, crime, drug reform, animal rights, and the implementation of auniversal basic income; and the "new deal for tax and spend", which outlined the party's economic policies such as simplifying income tax, increasingcorporation tax to make big businesses pay their fair share, supporting small businesses, and ending wasteful spending.[142]
For the2024 general election, the party's manifesto followed the slogan "Real hope. Real change." Their manifesto focused on providing a "secure future", solving theclimate crisis, major investment into the NHS, raising tax on those earning more than £50,270 a year, nationalising Britain's railways, water companies and largest energy companies, expanding renewable power, campaigning for councils to be given the right to set rent controls and ban no-fault evictions.[143]
The Green Party believes in "an economy that works for all". This includes steps to eliminate poverty with social policies such as increasing theminimum wage in line with theliving wage. In October 2021, the party stated its support for a £15 an hour minimum wage.[144][145] The party supports moving towards afour-day work week; which it is claimed would boost productivity and growth, with Mondays and Fridays being the least productive days in the week.[150]
In November 2019, the Greens pledged to introduce auniversal basic income by 2025, which will give every adult in the United Kingdom (unemployed or not) at least £89 a week (with additional payments to those facing barriers to work, including disabled people and single parents).[151] This is in order to tackle poverty, give people financial security, give people more freedom of choice to cut their working hours, start a green new business, take part in the community, or improve their own well-being.[151] The policy also aims to tackle the rising levels of automation that threaten to put millions out of work and fundamentally change British industry.[152]
The Green Party wanted to raisecorporation tax from 19% to a higher level; this is designed to generate more government revenue and ensure large corporations do not become too powerful. The party wants to end subsidies forfossil fuels and replace them with subsidies forrenewable energy sources such as wind, solar power and tidal power. Investment ingreen energy could potentially create more jobs and boost the economy. The environmental economic policy also includes a Green deal that the Green Party say will generate new jobs and reduce Britain's energy costs. The Green Party wants to increase Britain's development and its position on theHuman Development Index and free time index. They believe that uncontrolled economic growth has contributed topollution andglobal warming and that more steps should be taken to ensure that growth is sustainable and keeps environmental damage to a minimum.[153]
The party also supports the implementation of a nationwide retrofit insulation programme (for both homeowners and renters). This would be in order to reduce energy consumption, provide warm homes and lower people's energy bills.[154]
The party supports bringing energy and water companies, public transport including buses and railways, as well asRoyal Mail into public ownership.[155] They have also called for social care to be free at the point of use.[156]
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The Green Party supports bringing water companies into public ownership to lower water bills and so that the money that would go to shareholders is instead spent on mending leaks, rebuilding infrastructure and maintaining clean water.[157][158] The party also wants to set new air quality standards, increase the number of forests and woodlands in England and Wales and extend people's access to green space.[158][159]
The party states that it would end industry tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuel-based power generation, and would work toward closing coal-fired power stations as soon as possible. The Green Party would also remove subsidies for nuclear power within ten years and work towards phasing out nuclear energy, due to nuclear power being slow to develop, very expensive and the large quantities of radioactive waste it produces.[160] Instead it would invest in renewable energy sources, including wind power, solar power andhydropower, as well as new and emerging renewable technologies, such astidal power andwave power.[161] The party also supports the use ofmarine energy andgeothermal energy.[158] This would coincide with an aim to cut energy use through methods such as home insulation.[154] The party aims for the UK to become carbon neutral. The Green Party Manifesto for the2019 UK general election stated:
The UK should base its future emissions budgets on the principles of science and equity and the aim of keeping global warming below 1.5 C. These principles entail the UK reducing its own emissions to net-zero by 2030 and seeking to reduce the emissions embedded in its imports to zero as soon as possible. The urgency of these objectives requires the UK to make overcoming the technological, political and social obstacles a national priority.[162]
The Green Party wants to set up an environmental protection committee to ensure the protection of habitats and to enhance biodiversity. The party also wants to bantrophy hunting andtrail hunting.[158]
Since at least 1992, the party has emphasised unilateralnuclear disarmament and called for rejection of the UK'sTrident nuclear missile programme.[163] To campaign for the latter, in 2015 it teamed up with the organisation,Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), and the political parties,Plaid Cymru, and theScottish National Party (SNP).[164][better source needed] Former LeaderNatalie Bennett has advocated replacing the British Army with a "home defence force", according toThe Telegraph.[165]
Green Party policy formerly stated that "in the long term, it would take the UK out ofNATO".[166] In 2014,Natalie Bennett led an anti-NATO march inNewport.[167][non-primary source needed] In 2022, the party formally supported withdrawal from NATO, but not before the end of theRusso-Ukrainian War.[168] This changed in March 2023, when the party abandoned its opposition to NATO.[169] However, the party said it supports reform of the organisation in aspects such as guaranteeing a "no first use" policy on nuclear weapons, that NATO commits to upholding human rights, and that the organisation only acts in defence of member states.[170]
The party opposed the UK's involvement in theWar in Afghanistan,[171] theinvasion of Iraq,[171]military intervention in Libya[171] and opposes British involvement in theSaudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen.[172]
The party campaigns for the rights ofindigenous people around the world and argues for greaterautonomy for these individuals. Furthermore, they support the granting of compensation and justice for historical wrongs, and that the re-appropriation of lands and resources should be granted to certain nations and peoples. The party also believes that the cancelling ofinternational debt should take place immediately and any financial assistance should be in the form of grants and not loans, limiting debt service payments to 10% of export earnings per year.[136]
The Green Party advocate for a less "bully boy culture" from theWestern world and more self-sustainability in terms of food and energy policy on a global level, with aid, only being given to countries as a last resort in order to prevent them from being indebted to their donors.[136]
Amid the toughening rhetoric surrounding immigration at the 2015 general election, the Greens issued mugs emblazoned with the slogan "Standing Up For Immigrants".[10] They claimed to offer a "genuine alternative" to the views of the mainstream parties by promoting the removal of restrictions on the number of foreign students, abolishing rules on family migration, and promoting further rights for asylum seekers.[11]
The Green Party has an officialdrugs group, for drugs policy and research.[173] The party wants to end the prohibition of drugs and create asystem of legal regulation in order tominimise the harm associated with drug use as well as the harm associated with its production and supply.[174][175] The party's view is that people have always used drugs and there will always be people that will use them, and therefore focus should be on minimising the harm associated with drug use and tackling the causes of why people take drugs (e.g. poverty, isolation, mental illness, physical illness, and psychological trauma).[174] This sits alongside the party's belief that adults should be free to make informed decisions about their own drug consumption, while this freedom is also balanced with the government's responsibility to protect individuals and society from harm.[174] The party considers the drugs issue to be a health issue, rather than a criminal one.[176]
The party also supports openingoverdose prevention centres in towns and cities in order to prevent fatal overdoses, the transmission ofHIV,hepatitis C and other illnesses, as well as offering a place for drug users to access health and treatment services.[174] The party supports devolving the decision-making on whether to open these sites to police, health services and local authorities.[174]
Ian Barnett from the Green Party says that: "The Policy of 'War on Drugs' has clearly failed. We need a different approach to the control and misuse of drugs." However, the party does aim to minimise drug use due to the negative effects on the individual and society at large.[177]
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The stated aim of the sexual orientation and gender identity group within the party, known as LGBTIQA+ Greens, is toraise awareness onLGBTIQA+ rights and issues affecting the broaderLGBTIQA+ community, as well as broader Green politics.[178][non-primary source needed]
The LGBTIQA+ Greens are a Special Interest Group of the party, colloquially known as a Liberation Group. As of January 2025,[update] the co-chairs of the group are Matt Rogan and Kat Bristow.[179]
The 2015 and 2017 general election manifestos contained policies on all teachers to be trained on LGBTIQA+ issues (such as "providing mandatory HIV, sex, and relationships education – age appropriate and LGBTIQA+-inclusive – in all schools from primary level onwards"), on reforming the system of pensions, on ending the "spousal veto" (a provision of theGender Recognition Act that requires applications for aGender Recognition Certificate to include written consent from an applicant's spouse)[180] and on "mak[ing] equal marriage truly equal" by amending pension inheritance rights.[181][182] Bennett has also voiced support forpolygamy andpolyamorous relationships.[183]
The Green Party supportssame-sex marriage and, onBrighton and Hove City Council, expelled Christina Summers in 2012 due to opposition to same-sex marriage legislation on religious grounds.[184][185]
Some issues of trans rights have caused divisions in the Green Party, such as whenSiân Berry cited opposition to her support for trans rights as a reason for stepping down as co-leader.[186][187][188] In the subsequentleadership election, candidateShahrar Ali's comments on trans rights led to the Young Greens to call for his expulsion.[189] After being removed as Speaker for the party, Shahrar Ali successfully sued the Green Party for unlawfully discriminating against his gender critical protected belief under theEquality Act 2010.[190] In February 2024, theMayor's and City County Court ruled that the Greens had breached procedural fairness and awarded him £9,100, but upheld that political parties may dismiss spokespersons for views not in line with their party's values.[191][192][193]
At the 2021 Conference, the Green Party voted in favour ofgender self-identification and voted down a motion that women were discriminated against "solely upon their biological sex", which opponents claimed excluded trans women.[194]
TheScottish Greens suspended their cooperation with the Green Party of England and Wales in October 2022 due to "transphobic rhetoric and conduct" and "lethargic, ineffective, and inconsistent" disciplinary action against "an unelected legislator [who had] insulted [the Scottish Greens] and sought to damage [the Scottish party's] reputation regarding LGBT+ rights, women's rights, and child protection issues".[195] In response, the English and Welsh party replied that "the Green Party of England and Wales is clear that trans rights are human rights and we are proud of our strong policies on trans inclusion".[195] The Green Party opposed theSupreme Court of the United Kingdom rulings limiting transgender civil rights, and supports transgender rights.[196]
The Green Party has called for "A People's Transport System"[197] to help deal with the issues not just to the planet but to local communities as well. The Green Party has an official transport working group, aimed at helping to draw up policies to be voted on at the conference.
The party also aims to prioritise accessibility to transport and create equal access irrespective of age, wealth or disability. The party also wants to reduce the total distance people travel and travel journey lengths by encouraging the development and retention of local facilities. It also seeks to reduce the environmental impacts of transport, partly through encouraging transport that makes use of sustainable and replaceable resources. The party would also implement agreen transport hierarchy of transport that would need to be followed by all levels of government:[198]
One of the flagship and long-standing policies in this field is returning therailways to public ownership[197] along with renationalising other forms of transport.
The party opposedHigh Speed 2 (HS2) at first, in favour of alternative transport strategies.[199] The party was, however, in favour of high speed rail in principle, as a means of challenging short haul domestic flights, provided projects meet strict criteria. The party advocated to divert money invested in HS2 towards other infrastructure projects, such as upgrading and improving local public transport.[200][201][202][203]
In September 2024, members of the party voted to reverse its stance on HS2 to being in favour of building the full project.[204]
The party supports scrappinguniversity and further education fees.[205][206] It supports all courses in further education being provided free at the point of use.[206] According to the Green Party:
"Under a green government all currently outstanding debts – yet to be paid – held by an individual, for undergraduate tuition fees and maintenance loans, and any resulting interest would be written off. Specifically, those issued by theStudent Loans Company (SLC) and currently held by the UK government".[206]
The party campaigns for greater accountability in global governance, with theUnited Nations made up of elected representatives and more regional representation, as opposed to the current nation-based setup. They want democratic control of the global economy with theWorld Trade Organization,International Monetary Fund andWorld Bank reformed, democratised or even replaced. The party also wishes to prioritise social and environmental sustainability as a global policy.[136]
The party advocates ending thefirst past the post voting system for UK parliamentary elections and replacing it with a form ofproportional representation.[207] The party has also advocated for the inclusion of aRe-open Nominations (RON) option on UK ballot papers.
The Green Party states that they believe there is "no place in government for the hereditary principle".[208] In their long-term goals, they advocate that "The monarchy shallcease to be an office of government. The legislative, executive and judicial roles of the monarch shall cease."[209]
The party supports theseparation of church and state. It advocates that theChurch of England bedisestablished from the British state and become self-governing.[210]
The party supported Scottish independence in the2014 Scottish independence referendum.[211]
In February 2021, the Green Party announced that it supported a referendum onWelsh independence and would campaign in favour of independence if a referendum were to be held,[212] following a 2020 conference vote.[213] For the2024 election, the Welsh branch backed Welsh independence in their manifesto.[214] The party's general policy is to support theself-determination of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, should they wish tosecede from the United Kingdom.[215]
Unlike the UK's other prominent political parties, the Green Party regularly fields candidates against theSpeaker of the House of Commons in general elections and they typically receive the largest vote share after the Speaker.[216]
In their manifesto for the1987 United Kingdom general election the Green Party opposed theEuropean Economic Community due to their concerns about large scale corporate and governmental power, as well as objecting to theCommon Agricultural Policy. The Green Party remainedEurosceptic for the1989 European Parliament election and during the 1990s. Their first twoMembers of the European Parliament were elected in 1999 due to the adoption of proportional representation, and during the 21st century EU policies developed to include more environmental protection and sustainability. Green Party policy changed to advocating EU reform, arguing in particular for increased democracy and reduced corporate lobbying.[217]
The party supportedthe 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union, calling it "a vital opportunity to create a more democratic and accountable Europe, with a clearer purpose for the future".[218][non-primary source needed] The party has criticised theCommon Fisheries Policy and the "excessive influence" of theEuropean Commission in comparison to theEuropean Council andEuropean Parliament, describing it as "undemocratic and unaccountable".[219][non-primary source needed] The party favoured a "three yeses" approach to Europe: "yes to a referendum, yes to major EU reform and yes to staying in a reformed Europe".[citation needed] In 2013, then party leader, Natalie Bennett added that:
'Yes to the EU' does not mean we are content with the union continuing to operate as it has in the past. There is a huge democratic deficit in its functioning, a serious bias towards the interests of neoliberalism and 'the market', and central institutions have been overbuilt. But to achieve those reforms we need to work with fellow EU members, not try to dictate high handedly to them, asDavid Cameron has done.[220]
The party came out in favour of the UK remaining in the EU in February 2016, prior to the EU referendum in June 2016.[221] Reasons the party cited for supporting remaining in the EU included the protection of workers rights and environmental standards.[221]
The party has two governing bodies – the Green Party Executive (GPEx), and the Green Party Council.
Day-to-day management of party affairs, as well as party finances and employment of staff are handled by the GPEx.[222][223][224]
The Green Party Regional Council (GPRC) was the main policy body between Green Party Conferences, as well as handling broader political strategy, and responsibility as the ultimate disciplinary body of the party.[222][225][226] In October 2025, the party's conference voted for constitutional reform that abolishes the GPRC and created a new Green Party Council (GPC). Members of this new body will be elected for the first time in 2026, with previous members of the GPRC continuing until then.[227]
There are a number of member groups affiliated to the Green Party.
The youth wing of the Green Party, theYoung Greens of England and Wales, has developed independently from around 2002; it is for all Green Party members aged up to 30 years old or in full or part-time education. There is no lower age limit. The Young Greens have their own constitution, national committee, campaigns and meetings, and have become an active presence at Green Party Conferences and election campaigns. There are now many Young Greens groups on UK university, college and higher-education institution campuses. Many Green Party councillors are Young Greens, as are some members of GPEx and other internal party organs.[228]
Groups:[229]
The Green Party relies more on membership income than other parties. In 2014, membership income made up 23% of Green Party income (compared to just 2% of Conservative Party and 9% of Liberal Democrat incomes).[230] As Prof Catherine Rowett explains: "Money pays for leaflets, campaigns, staff time. Big parties have huge donors who want a reward in the form of corrupt access to government. We run a clean campaign with money from our members. Little bits of money, whatever you can afford".[231]
Membership increased rapidly in 2014, more than doubling in that year.[232] On 15 January 2015, the Green Party claimed that the combined membership of the UK Green Parties (Green Party of England and Wales,Scottish Greens, andGreen Party Northern Ireland) had risen to 43,829 members, surpassingUKIP's membership of 41,966, and making it the third-largest UK-wide political party in the UK in terms of membership.[233][234] On 14 January 2015,The Guardian had reported that membership of the combined UK Green Parties was closing on those of UKIP and the Liberal Democrats, but noted that it lagged behind that of theScottish National Party (SNP), which at the time had a membership of 92,187 members but is not a UK-wide party.[235] Membership of the party peaked at more than 67,000 members in the summer of 2015 after the general election, but later declined subsequent toJeremy Corbyn becoming leader of the Labour Party.[236] During the2025 leadership election, membership hit a new high of 68,500.[237] Following the election ofPolanski as party leader, membership of the party increased significantly, overtaking membership figures for both theLiberal Democrats and the Conservative Party.[238][239] On 27 October, the party's membership was over 150,000, having doubled since Polanski became leader.[240]
For the year ending 31 December 2024, Green Party income was £5,217,767 and expenditure was £4,985,310.[241]
"Green voters have tended to be younger and better educated than the electorate at large, and they are known to be more likely than most voters to work in thepublic sector. In terms of values, Green voters have been found to be more often than not on the left of the political spectrum, and they have been more likely than the average voter to holdpost-materialist values, including support for environmental protection."
According to political scientistSarah Birch, the Green Party draws support from "a wide spectrum of the population".[243] In 1995, sociologist Chris Rootes stated that the Green Party "appeals disproportionately to younger, highly educated professional people"; however, he noted that this support base was "not predominantly urban".[244] In 2009, Birch noted that the Greens' strongest areas of support were Labour-held seats in university towns or urban areas with relatively large student populations.[245] She noted that there were also strong correlations between areas of high Green support and high percentages of people who define themselves as havingno religion.[246]
Birch noted that sociological polling found a "strong relationship" between individuals having voted for the Liberal Democrats in the past and holding favourable views of the Green Party, noting that the two groups were competing for "similar sorts of voters".[247]
A February 2024 poll showed that 14% ofMuslim voters voted for the Green Party and 38% no longer supported the Labour Party.[248] In September 2024,Sky News reported that Green Party's anti-Gaza war stance has attracted a significant amount of Muslim voters who previously voted for Labour Party.[249] When Green Party politicianMothin Ali was elected asLeeds City Council member,The Daily Telegraph noted that he called his victory a “win for the people of Gaza” and chanted phraseTakbir.[250]
In October 2025, unnamed Green Party members toldHyphen that the party has seen an increase in Muslim voters since Mothin Ali was elected to be itsdeputy leader. Faaiz Hasan, member of "Muslim Greens" group within the party, said the party is becoming popular in communities with high amount of Muslims, likeBarking and Dagenham.[251]
The party has fourmembers of Parliament, two members of theHouse of Lords, three members of theLondon Assembly, and more than eight-hundred councillors who have been elected at the local level.[252][253]
The first MP elected as a representative of the Green Party wasCynog Dafis, who was elected on ajoint ticket withPlaid Cymru for the seat ofCeredigion and Pembroke North in the1992 general election.[254][255] The first MP to represent the Green Party alone wasCaroline Lucas, who won the seat ofBrighton Pavilion at the2010 general election, which was then held by the Greens at each subsequent election in2015,2017,2019 and2024. A further three seats were won in 2024 –Bristol Central,North Herefordshire, andWaveney Valley. As with other small parties, representation at the House of Commons has been hindered by thefirst-past-the-post voting system,[256] meaning the party is highly under-represented. In 2019, it received 835,589 votes accounting for 2.7% of total votes, but only 0.2%, or one, of the seats.[257][258]
| Election | Leader(s)[n 2] | Votes | Seats | Government | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | ± | # | ± | ||||
| 1992 | Jean Lambert | Richard Lawson | 170,047 | 0.5 |  0.2 | 1 / 650 |  1 | Conservative |
| 1997 | Peg Alexander | David Taylor | 61,731 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0 / 659 | 1 | Labour |
| 2001 | Margaret Wright | Mike Woodin | 166,477 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0 / 659 |  | Labour |
| 2005 | Caroline Lucas | Keith Taylor | 257,758 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0 / 646 | | Labour |
| 2010 | Caroline Lucas | 265,247 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1 / 650 | 1 | Conservative–Liberal Democrats | |
| 2015 | Natalie Bennett | 1,111,603 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 1 / 650 | | Conservative | |
| 2017 | Caroline Lucas | Jonathan Bartley | 512,327 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1 / 650 | | Conservative minority withDUP confidence & supply |
| 2019 | Siân Berry | 835,589 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 1 / 650 | | Conservative | |
| 2024[259] | Carla Denyer | Adrian Ramsay | 1,841,888 | 6.7 | 4.1 | 4 / 650 | 3 | Labour |
The party's firstlife peer wasBaron Beaumont of Whitley, who defected from the Liberal Democrat group of peers in 1999, spoke frequently in the house and died in 2008.[260]Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb became the next peer, 2013–present.[261] Former party leaderBaroness Bennett of Manor Castle joined her in 2019. She was appointed on the back of continued strong election results for the party, throughTheresa May's resignation honours list.[262]
Since the first UK election to the European Parliament with proportional representation, inJune 1999, the Green Party of England and Wales has had representation in the European Parliament. From 1999 to 2010, the two MEPs wereJean Lambert (London) and Lucas (South East England). In 2010, on election to the House of Commons, Lucas resigned her seat and was succeeded byKeith Taylor. InMay 2014, Taylor and Lambert held their seats, and were joined byMolly Scott Cato who was elected in the South West region, increasing the number of Green Party Members of the European Parliament to three for the first time.[263] InMay 2019, this number rose to seven:Scott Ainslie (London),Ellie Chowns (West Midlands),Gina Dowding (North West England),Magid Magid (Yorkshire and the Humber),Alexandra Phillips (South East England),Catherine Rowett (East of England), and the re-elected Scott Cato.[264]
| Election | Leader(s)[n 2] | Votes | Seats | Position | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | ± | # | ± | ||||
| 1994 | John Cornford | Jan Clark | 471,257 | 3.0 | 11.9[265] | 0 / 87 | | 5th[265] |
| 1999 | Mike Woodin | Jean Lambert | 568,236 | 5.3 | 2.3 | 2 / 87 | 2 | 5th |
| 2004 | Mike Woodin | Caroline Lucas | 948,588 | 5.6 | 0.3 | 2 / 78 | | 5th |
| 2009 | Caroline Lucas | 1,223,303 | 7.8 | 2.2 | 2 / 72 | | 5th | |
| 2014 | Natalie Bennett | 1,136,670 | 6.9 | 0.9 | 3 / 73 | 1 | 4th | |
| 2019 | Jonathan Bartley | Siân Berry | 1,881,306 | 11.8 | 4.9 | 7 / 73 | 4 | 4th |
 |  |
The party has representation at thelocal government level in England and Wales.
The party had its first local mayor, Peter Christie, in 1985 inBideford.[266]
From the early 1990s until 2009, the number of Green local councillors rose from none to more than 100.[48]
In 2011, the party led a council for the first time, when they tookminority control ofBrighton and Hove City Council following the2011 Brighton and Hove City Council election.[267] In July 2020, the Green Party again took minority control of Brighton, following the collapse of the Labour Party's minority administration.[268]
The2023 United Kingdom local elections saw the Greens' winning an overall council majority for the first time onMid Suffolk District Council. Following the2024 United Kingdom local elections Greens led coalitions on Babergh, Bristol,East Hertfordshire, East Suffolk, Folkestone & Hythe,Forest of Dean, Hastings, Lancaster, Lewes, Maidstone, Stroud and Warwick councils and were part of coalitions running more than two dozen more.
Since 2017, the party has increased its number of councillors at every election, which after the2025 local elections had reached an all-time high of 859 seats on 181 different councils.[269]
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In the 2001 general election the Green Party took 0.7% of the vote with no seats gained.
Ukip are in third place on 13.3%, the Liberal Democrats are fourth on 7.8% and the Greens are fifth on 5.4%. However, it is too soon to judge whether the leaders' debate has had any impact upon levels of support, PA says.
We've had a good start in the last 24 hours – we've had about 1,000 more people join the Green Party so our membership has gone over 63,000, which means we are much bigger than Ukip and the Liberal Democrats.
In the long term, we would take the UK out of NATO.
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:3 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).
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