Greens make gains in Labour London strongholds, expanding capital foothold

The Greens are no longer a fringe presence in London politics. City Hall’s current membership list shows Zoë Garbett, Zack Polanski and Caroline Russell in the Green group, giving the party three visible platforms at the heart of the capital’s politics and a sharper edge in Labour territory.

That matters because London has long been Labour ground. Garbett joined the London Assembly on 7 May 2024 after Siân Berry stepped aside, adding to a team that now has both institutional visibility and a local base. Russell, who has lived in Islington since 1986 and joined the Assembly in 2016 as a walking and cycling campaigner, gives the Greens a profile that cuts across the capital’s progressive politics rather than sitting in a single niche.

The party’s present strength looks far removed from its earlier weakness in Labour heartlands. In the 2010 general election, Natalie Bennett won just 2.7% in Labour-held Holborn and St Pancras. By 2013, the Greens were still describing the task as one of moving beyond their strongholds and spreading out across the country. London now suggests that push has gained real traction.

The London Green Party says the latest YouGov polling puts the Greens in second place across London, and that the party came second in 19 parliamentary constituencies at the last general election. That is a different kind of result from the old protest-vote pattern. It points to a party that is becoming competitive across a wider slice of the capital, especially in boroughs where Labour has depended on progressive voters to hold together its coalition.

Recent months have strengthened that picture. The Green Party said on 6 March 2026 that it gained 15,000 new members in a week after a by-election victory, then launched a local-election fundraiser on 21 April ahead of the 7 May contests. In July 2025, two Labour councillors in Hammersmith & Fulham, Trey Campbell-Simon and Liz Collins, joined the Greens, citing Keir Starmer’s rightward shift and a toxic local culture. That kind of defection is a warning sign for Labour far beyond one borough.

The question now is whether London’s Green advance remains a protest channel or becomes something more durable. With a stronger City Hall presence, fresh members and defections from Labour, the party has built the kind of foothold that can turn urban discontent into lasting electoral leverage.