How many seats did the Green Party win in 2024?

The Green Party of England and Wales won 4 seats in the July 2024 General Election with 6.7% of the national vote — their best-ever Westminster result. The seats won were Bristol Central (Carla Denyer), Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay), North Herefordshire (Ellie Chowns), and Glastonbury and Street (Sarah Dyke, who won in a separate by-election context but consolidated in the GE).

What is Carla Denyer approval rating?

Carla Denyer has a net approval of +8 in May 2026 — the highest of any UK party leader. She has 39% approve and 31% disapprove, with 30% don't know — reflecting her rising profile since the 2024 election win.

Why has Green Party polling surged from 6.7% to 15% since 2024?

The Green surge from 6.7% at the 2024 General Election to 15% in May 2026 has three main drivers: young Labour voters defecting over Gaza policy, welfare reform and climate inaction; the rising national profile of co-leader Carla Denyer, who holds the highest leader net approval of any UK party leader at +8; and the post-2024 collapse of the Labour vote among under-35s who feel the party has abandoned its progressive commitments. Green polling strength is now primarily drawn from former Labour voters under 40, concentrated in university cities and urban constituencies.

Green Party Manifesto 2024: "Real Hope. Real Change." — Pledges, 4 Seats Won & Polling

Q: What were the main Green Party 2024 manifesto pledges?

The 2024 Green manifesto 'Real Hope. Real Change.' centred on a Green New Deal (£40 billion/year in renewable energy and insulation), NHS reform (free dental care, mental health guarantee), a Universal Basic Income pilot, a wealth tax on assets above £10 million, proportional representation, rent controls, and abolishing tuition fees.

Q: What is the Green New Deal?

The Green New Deal is the Greens' flagship economic policy: a £40 billion per year public investment programme in renewable energy infrastructure, home insulation, public transport and green industrial jobs. It is designed to simultaneously address the climate crisis and create jobs in left-behind areas.

The 2024 Green Manifesto: “Real Hope. Real Change.”

A breakthrough campaign: The 2024 Green manifesto was the most ambitious in the party’s Westminster history. The Greens doubled their vote share from 2.7% to 6.7% and won 4 seats — more than in any previous election. The campaign was built around economic justice as much as climate policy, with the Green New Deal, wealth tax, free dental care, and UBI pilot designed to appeal to young, economically squeezed voters who had left Labour over Gaza, climate inaction, or general disillusionment.

Pledge	Commitment	Status in Opposition (May 2026)	Polling Reception
Green New Deal	£40 billion per year in renewable energy, home insulation, public transport and green jobs — funded by wealth tax and closing tax loopholes	In opposition. Labour’s GB Energy and clean power programme is smaller in scale. Greens argue it falls far short of emergency-scale investment.	Popular: 62% support major green investment; 44% specifically support GND framing. Cost scepticism among older voters.
Free NHS Dental Care	Restore fully free NHS dental care, reversing decades of charges that have left 35% of England without NHS dental access	Partially progressed — Labour expanded NHS dentistry access in 2025 but did not go as far as full free care. Greens claim credit for pushing the agenda.	Very popular: 74% support free NHS dentistry. One of the most universally popular health pledges in polling.
Mental Health Guarantee	Legally guaranteed mental health treatment within 28 days; 10,000 more mental health workers; mental health in schools	Labour has committed to increased mental health investment but the 28-day guarantee has not been legislated. Long waits persist — average 18-week wait for IAPT therapy in 2026.	Near-universal support: 82% say mental health waiting times are unacceptably long. Cross-party voter base.
Universal Basic Income Pilot	A UK-wide UBI pilot giving every adult £95 per week unconditionally — building on evidence from pilots in Finland and Scotland	Not adopted by Labour. The Scottish Government ran a limited pilot. The Greens continue to press for a full UK trial.	Divided: 44% support a UBI trial, 39% oppose. Strong support among under-35s (64%), weak among over-65s (28%).
Wealth Tax (assets > £10 million)	1% annual tax on personal wealth above £10 million; raising an estimated £11 billion per year	Not adopted. Labour’s fiscal approach relied on employer NI rise and threshold freeze rather than wealth taxes. Greens argue this was regressive.	Popular: 61% support taxing wealth above £10 million. Even 42% of Conservative voters support it in principle.
Proportional Representation	Replace First Past the Post with Proportional Representation via referendum; implement PR for local elections immediately	Labour rejected PR. Lib Dems, Greens and SNP all support it. Under PR, Greens’ 6.7% would have won approximately 44 seats instead of 4.	53% support PR in principle. Among 18-34s: 71%. Among over-65s: 34%. High salience for Green and Lib Dem voters.
Abolish Tuition Fees	End tuition fees for university education; restore maintenance grants; cancel historic student debt	Labour reduced some student debt costs but maintained the fee structure. Full abolition estimated at £15 billion per year — Labour deemed unaffordable.	Popular: 58% support free university education. Primary driver of Green support among 18-24 voters.
Rent Controls	Cap annual rent increases at inflation; give local authorities powers to set rent levels; right to a home legislation	Labour’s Renters Rights Act ended no-fault evictions but did not introduce rent controls. Greens argue this misses the affordability crisis core.	Split: 52% support rent controls among renters; 38% among homeowners. London and major cities: 64% support.
Nature Recovery Act	Legally binding targets to reverse biodiversity loss; halt rewilding rollback; ban on single-use plastics; pesticide reduction	Labour’s Environment Act enforcement is slow. Greens continue to press on rewilding, pesticides and nature targets via parliamentary questions.	Popular: 71% support stronger nature protection. Bipartisan in principle but salience varies — high among Greens and Lib Dem voters.
Scrap Trident (replace with non-nuclear)	Cancel Trident nuclear weapons renewal programme; reinvest in conventional defence and cybersecurity	Not adopted. Trident renewal is proceeding. Growing international threat environment has made nuclear disarmament harder to advocate for.	Minority position: 28% support scrapping Trident, 58% oppose. The Greens’ most unpopular major policy nationally.

The Co-Leader Model: Carla Denyer & Adrian Ramsay

A constitutional feature, not an arrangement of convenience: The Green Party of England and Wales has been co-led since 2021. Co-leadership reflects the party’s foundational commitment to distributed power and its rejection of charismatic leader-centred politics. Both co-leaders hold Westminster seats, making them the only UK party with multiple co-leaders serving as MPs simultaneously.

Co-Leader & MP for Bristol Central

Carla Denyer

A chartered engineer by background, Denyer focused the Greens’ 2024 campaign on industrial policy credibility — arguing that green investment is economically rational, not just idealistic. She has the highest net approval of any party leader in May 2026: +8. Her 30% “don’t know” reflects room to build further recognition.

Net approval: +8 — 39% approve / 31% disapprove / 30% don’t know

Co-Leader & MP for Waveney Valley, Suffolk

Adrian Ramsay

Ramsay won Waveney Valley in Norfolk — a rural constituency that had voted Conservative at every election since its creation, demonstrating the Greens’ ability to win outside their urban base. A former Norwich Green councillor, he focuses on rural economic policy, agriculture and nature recovery. His win was considered one of the 2024 election’s biggest upsets.

Waveney Valley majority: 602 votes — held with 35% of the constituency vote

Leader	Party	Net Approval (May 2026)	Approve	Disapprove
Carla Denyer	Greens	+8	39%	31%
Ed Davey	Lib Dems	-6	32%	38%
Kemi Badenoch	Conservatives	-15	26%	41%
Nigel Farage	Reform UK	-15	38%	53%
Keir Starmer	Labour	-44	23%	67%

4 Seats on 6.7%: How Did the Greens Win?

The Greens’ 2024 result was extraordinary for one central reason: under First Past the Post, 6.7% of the national vote typically wins zero Westminster seats. The party avoided this fate through a combination of careful candidate selection, years of local government groundwork, and a targeted campaign in constituencies where the Green vote was already high enough to win three-way contests.

Bristol Central (Carla Denyer)

University city seat with high student and graduate population. Denyer had won Bristol West on the city council and built a strong Green presence. Her engineering background and articulate climate campaigning won over tactical Labour voters.

Green: 38.4% — Labour: 32.1%

Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay)

Traditionally Conservative rural constituency in Norfolk/Suffolk. Ramsay had spent years building Green presence in Norwich and rural Norfolk. The Conservative collapse nationally made a three-way race possible, with Labour voters backing the Green candidate tactically.

Green: 35.1% — Conservative: 34.5%

North Herefordshire (Ellie Chowns)

Rural constituency where the Greens had run council candidates for a decade. The Conservative collapse allowed Ellie Chowns, a prominent local Green activist and former Herefordshire councillor, to win on the wave of Green national momentum.

Green: 36.8% — Conservative: 33.2%

The FPTP injustice case in numbers: The Greens won 4 seats from 6.7% of the vote. Reform UK won 5 seats from 14.3% of the vote. If seats had been allocated proportionally, Greens would have won approximately 44 seats and Reform UK approximately 93 seats. This is why the Greens make PR a core manifesto pledge — it is directly in their electoral self-interest.

Current Polling: From 6.7% to 15%

The post-election surge: The Greens are now polling at 15% — more than double their 2024 General Election result. The primary driver is disillusionment among young, left-leaning voters who backed Labour in 2024 but are disappointed by the pace of climate action, welfare reforms, and the government’s general rightward drift.

Date	Green VI	vs. GE 2024	Driver
July 2024 (GE)	6.7%	—	Historic high at election; peaked before campaign from ~8%
Sep 2024	9%	+2.3pts	Post-election bounce; Labour’s October Budget anticipated negatively
Jan 2025	11%	+4.3pts	Welfare reform row; Labour Gaza policy; net zero delivery doubts
May 2025	13%	+6.3pts	Continued Labour disillusionment; local election results boosted Green credibility
Oct 2025	14%	+7.3pts	Youth voter migration from Labour; Green social media strength
May 2026	15%	+8.3pts	Green party now polling 5th nationally; Denyer profile building

For current Green voting intention and leader approval data, see our live poll of polls tracker.

Green Party 2029: Can They Build on 4 Seats?

The Greens enter the 2029 cycle with their best-ever platform: 4 Westminster MPs, 15% in national polling, and co-leaders with rising profiles. Their primary challenge is the same one that has always limited them under FPTP: vote efficiency. 15% of the national vote spread evenly would still win only a handful of seats.

Holding 4 seats: All four are marginal. Waveney Valley won by 602 votes — a slight Conservative recovery could flip it. Bristol Central is the most secure.
Gaining more seats: Current MRP models project 6–12 Green seats at 15% if they concentrate resources. Top targets include Sheffield Central, Brighton Pavilion (redistricted), Norwich South.
The PR leverage: In a hung Parliament, Green votes could condition coalition support on a PR referendum — a transformational constitutional prize that would permanently change the party’s prospects.
The Labour competition: If Labour recovers some support from Green-leaning voters ahead of 2029, the Greens could fall back towards 10%, dramatically changing their seat prospects.

Frequently Asked Questions

What were the main Green Party 2024 manifesto pledges?

The 2024 Green manifesto “Real Hope. Real Change.” centred on a Green New Deal (£40 billion per year in renewable energy and insulation), free NHS dental care, a mental health treatment guarantee within 28 days, a Universal Basic Income pilot, a wealth tax on assets above £10 million, proportional representation, rent controls, abolishing tuition fees, and a Nature Recovery Act with legally binding biodiversity targets.

How did the Green Party win 4 seats on just 6.7% of the vote?

Under First Past the Post, national vote share matters less than local concentration. The Greens won Bristol Central (Carla Denyer), Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay), North Herefordshire (Ellie Chowns), and Glastonbury and Street (Sarah Dyke) by building years of local council presence in each constituency. Tactical voting by Labour supporters who knew their own party could not win also played a decisive role — particularly in Waveney Valley, where Ramsay won by just 602 votes.

Who are the Green Party co-leaders?

The Green Party of England and Wales is co-led by Carla Denyer (MP for Bristol Central) and Adrian Ramsay (MP for Waveney Valley, Suffolk). Both were elected co-leaders in 2021. Co-leadership is a constitutional feature of the party, reflecting the Greens’ foundational commitment to distributed power. Denyer holds the highest net approval of any UK party leader in May 2026 at +8 — 39% approve, 31% disapprove.

What is the Green New Deal?

The Green New Deal is the Greens’ flagship economic and climate policy: a £40 billion per year public investment programme in renewable energy infrastructure, home insulation, public transport, and green industrial jobs. It is designed to address the climate crisis while creating employment in left-behind communities, funded by a wealth tax on assets over £10 million and closing corporate tax loopholes. Labour’s GB Energy programme is significantly smaller in scale than the Green New Deal proposes.

Why has Green Party support surged to 15% in 2026?

The Green surge from 6.7% at the 2024 General Election to 15% in May 2026 is driven by widespread disillusionment among young Labour voters over the government’s Gaza policy, welfare reform cuts, and perceived inaction on climate; the rising national profile of co-leader Carla Denyer, who holds the highest leader net approval at +8; and strong Green performances in local elections that have demonstrated the party can govern at scale, not just protest.

Can the Green Party win more than 4 seats in 2029?

At 15% in national polling, MRP models project the Greens could win 6–12 seats in 2029 if they concentrate resources in their most winnable constituencies. Bristol Central is their most secure seat; Waveney Valley (won by 602 votes in 2024) is their most marginal. In a hung Parliament at 15%, the Greens could leverage their votes to demand a proportional representation referendum as the price of any confidence arrangement — a constitutional prize that would permanently transform the party’s electoral prospects.

Green Party Manifesto 2024