Greens Target Labour in London as Urban Voters Drift Leftward

In Hackney, where Labour won 50 of 57 council seats in 2022, a human rights lawyer has decided the Greens now better match her politics. Nadeshda Jayakody’s shift from Labour is one small signal of a larger problem for Keir Starmer: London’s urban voters are drifting leftward just as Labour’s own coalition looks more brittle.

The scale of the test is wider than one borough. On May 7, 5,014 council seats across 136 local authorities in England will be contested, including all London boroughs, and more than half of the seats are in London or the South East. More in Common says Labour holds 2,196 councillors in the seats up for election, compared with 170 for the Greens and 78 for Reform UK, leaving Starmer’s party exposed in the places that once formed its most dependable base.

The warning signs in the capital are already visible. A More in Common MRP poll reported by The Standard put Labour’s support in London down 15 points since the 2024 general election to 28%. In Hackney, the Greens led Labour 34% to 31%, while in Lewisham, Lambeth and Islington they were within two points. More in Common’s Luke Tryl said former Labour strongholds could see major Green gains across inner London, a warning that the party’s appeal is no longer confined to a few activist enclaves.

Zack Polanski, who launched the Green Party’s local election campaign in Deptford on April 10, has made affordable housing the centerpiece of his pitch and has attacked Labour’s record in government, including its ties to developers. The Greens are trying to package housing pressure, climate urgency, renters’ rights and social services into a single urban message. That gives them an opening among voters frustrated by rents, bills and a sense that Labour has become too cautious on social policy, even as Starmer’s team responds to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK by emphasizing economic stability, secure borders, national security and breaking down barriers to opportunity.

Whether that anger turns into power is another question. John Curtice said many wards are likely to be decided by very small majorities, making the new five-party contest hard to predict. Hackney is the clearest test case: Labour still controlled the council after 2022, the Greens won only two seats in Dalston and Hackney Downs, and the Greens say the last time they took a London by-election from the opposition was in 2008. If they can convert disillusionment into gains now, the blow to Labour will be both symbolic and practical.