green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Carla Denyer Carla Suzanne Denyer (born 24 September 1985) is a British politician who has been the Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongside Adrian Ramsay since 2021 and the Member of Parliam ...

Adrian Ramsay Adrian Philip Ramsay is a British politician who has served as co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales since 2021 and as the Member of Parliament for Waveney Valley since 2024. He was previously the deputy leader of the Green Party ...

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...

steady-state economy A steady-state economy is an economy made up of a constant stock of physical wealth (capital) and a constant population size. In effect, such an economy does not grow in the course of time. The term usually refers to the economy, national eco ...

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

drug policy reform Drug liberalization is a drug policy process of decriminalizing, legalizing, or repealing laws that prohibit the production, possession, sale, or use of prohibited drugs. Variations of drug liberalization include drug legalization, drug releg ...

universal basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to perform Work (hu ...

Wales Green Party The Wales Green Party () is an autonomous section of the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) covering Wales. The Wales Green Party puts up candidates for council, Senedd, and UK Parliament seats. Since 2018, the Wales Green Party has been ...

Global Greens The Global Greens (GG) is an international network of political parties and movements which work to implement the Global Greens Charter. It consists of various national green political parties, partner networks, and other organizations associat ...

European Green Party The European Green Party (EGP), also referred to as European Greens, is a transnational, European political party representing national parties from across Europe who share Green values. The European Greens works closely with the Greens–Eur ...

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

PEOPLE Party The People Party is an Islamist party in Egypt which is part of the Anti-Coup Alliance. History and profile On 8 October 2012 the Egyptian Salafist Front proposed the creation of a new political party, to be named the People Party. The party ...

Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; ) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has 7 MSPs of 129 in the Scottish Parliament, the party holds 35 of the 1226 councillors at Scottish local Government level. The ...

Green Party Northern Ireland The Green Party Northern Ireland, sometimes abbreviated as Green Party NI, is a political party in Northern Ireland. Like many green political parties around the world, its origins lie in the anti-nuclear, labour and peace movements of the 19 ...

Green 2000 Green 2000 was a movement to streamline the constitutional arrangements of the Green Party of England and Wales in the early 1990s, with the stated aim of getting a Green government by the year 2000.member of Parliament in its then-leader

Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...

(although

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

's

Cynog Dafis Cynog Glyndwr Dafis (born 1 April 1938) is a Welsh politician and member of Plaid Cymru who served as the Member of Parliament for Ceredigion from 1992 to 2000, originally as a joint Plaid Cymru– Green Party MP until 1997 and then only as a ...

was elected on a

joint ticket The term ticket can mean different things in relation to elections of councils or legislative bodies. First, it may refer to a single election choice which fills more than one political office or seat. For example, in Guyana, the candidates fo ...

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 the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 2010 to 2019, before reaching four seats in 2024. The Green Party supports replacing the UK's

first-past-the-post voting system First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

with

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

, which would grant all parties a share of seats in Parliament based on their national vote share. The party saw an increase of support in 2025 from voters dissatisfied with Labour.

History

Origins (1972–1990)

The Green Party of England and Wales has its origins in the

PEOPLE Party The People Party is an Islamist party in Egypt which is part of the Anti-Coup Alliance. History and profile On 8 October 2012 the Egyptian Salafist Front proposed the creation of a new political party, to be named the People Party. The party ...

, which was founded in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

in November 1972. It was renamed to the

Ecology Party The Green Party, also known as the Green Party UK, was a Green political party in the United Kingdom. Prior to 1985; it was called the Ecology Party; before that, it was also named PEOPLE. In 1990, it separated into three regional political ...

in 1975; in 1985, the party changed its name to the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

. In 1989, the party's Scottish branch evolved to establish the independent

Scottish Green Party The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; ) are a green party, green List of political parties in Scotland, political party in Scotland. The party has 7 MSPs of 129 in the Scottish Parliament, the party holds 35 of the 1226 ...

, while the Green Party in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

is a northern branch of the Green Party of the Republic of Ireland, leaving the branches in England and Wales to form their own party. The Green Party of England and Wales is registered with the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

, only as "the Green Party". In the 1989 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. This election gave the Green Party the third-largest share of the vote after the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and Labour parties; because of the

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

system, however, it failed to gain a seat. Many say the success of the party is due to increased respect for

environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...

and the effects of the development boom in

southern England Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of ...

in the late 1980s.

Early years (1990–2008)

Seeking to capitalise on the Greens' success in the European Parliament elections, a group named

Green 2000 Green 2000 was a movement to streamline the constitutional arrangements of the Green Party of England and Wales in the early 1990s, with the stated aim of getting a Green government by the year 2000.delegate voting at party conferences. 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. 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. 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. The party fielded more candidates than it had ever done before in the 1992 general election but performed poorly. 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. The party sought to escape its reputation as an environmentalist

single-issue party Single-issue politics involves political campaigning or political support based on one essential policy area or idea. Political expression One weakness of such an approach is that effective political parties are usually coalitions of faction ...

by placing greater emphasis on social policies. 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. In 1993, future party leader and MP

Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...

gained a seat in

Oxfordshire County Council Oxfordshire County Council is the county council (upper-tier local authority) for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire in the South East of England. Established in 1889, it is an elected body responsible for most strategic local government ...

, with other gains following in the 1995 and 1996 local elections. The Greens sought to build alliances with other parties in the hope of gaining representation at the parliamentary level. In Wales, the Greens endorsed

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

candidate

Cynog Dafis Cynog Glyndwr Dafis (born 1 April 1938) is a Welsh politician and member of Plaid Cymru who served as the Member of Parliament for Ceredigion from 1992 to 2000, originally as a joint Plaid Cymru– Green Party MP until 1997 and then only as a ...

in the 1992 general election, having worked with him on several environmental initiatives. and he was duly elected on a

joint ticket The term ticket can mean different things in relation to elections of councils or legislative bodies. First, it may refer to a single election choice which fills more than one political office or seat. For example, in Guyana, the candidates fo ...

. For the 1997 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. As the Labour Party shifted to the

political centre Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...

under the leadership of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

and his

New Labour New Labour is the political philosophy that dominated the history of the British Labour Party from the mid-late 1990s to 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The term originated in a conference slogan first used by the ...

project, the Greens sought to gain the support of the party's disaffected leftists. During the 1999 European Parliament elections, the first to be held in the UK using

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

, the Greens gained their first

Members of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Comm ...

(MEPs), Lucas (

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England that are in the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, top level category for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the nine counties of england, ...

) and

Jean Lambert Jean Denise Lambert (born Jean Denise Archer; 1 June 1950 in Orsett, Essex) is an English politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament for the London Region between 1999 and 2019. Early life and career She attended Palmer's G ...

(

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

). At the inaugural London Assembly elections in 2000, the party gained 11% of the vote and returned three

Assembly Members Assembly Member or AM may refer to: * A Member of the London Assembly (2000–pres.) *A Member of the Tobago House of Assembly (1980–pres.) Defunct titles * A Member of the National Assembly for Wales (1999–2020), now Member of th ...

(AMs). Although this dropped to two following the

2004 London Assembly election An election to the Assembly of London took place on 10 June 2004, along with the 2004 London mayoral election. The Assembly is elected by the Additional Member System. There are fourteen directly elected constituencies, nine of which were wo ...

s, the Green AMs proved vital in passing the annual budget of former Mayor

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...

. At the 2001 general election, they polled 0.7% of the vote and gained no seats. At the 2004 European Parliamentary elections, the party returned two MEPs the same as in 1999; overall, the party polled 1,033,093 votes. In the 2005 general election, the party gained more than 1% of the vote for the first time and polled more than 10% in the constituencies of

Brighton Pavilion The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...

and

Lewisham Deptford Lewisham Deptford was a United Kingdom constituencies, parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencie ...

. 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.

Caroline Lucas (2008–2012)

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. In September 2008, the party then elected its first leader,

Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...

, with

Adrian Ramsay Adrian Philip Ramsay is a British politician who has served as co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales since 2021 and as the Member of Parliament for Waveney Valley since 2024. He was previously the deputy leader of the Green Party ...

elected deputy leader. In the party's first election with Lucas as leader, it retained both its MEPs in the

2009 European elections 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

. In the 2010 general election, the party returned its first MP. Lucas was returned as MP for the seat of

Brighton Pavilion The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...

. Following the election, Keith Taylor succeeded her as MEP for South East England. They also saved their deposit in

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

, and

Brighton Kemptown Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2024 general election by Chris Ward of the Labour Party. Before the 2024 general election the constituency was called Brigh ...

. In the 2011 local government elections in England and Wales, the Green Party in Brighton and Hove took minority control of the

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

by winning 23 seats, five short of an overall majority. At the 2012 local government elections, the Green Party gained five seats and retained both AMs at the

2012 London Assembly election The London Assembly election of 2012 was an election of members to the London Assembly which took place on Thursday, 3 May 2012, the same day as the 2012 London mayoral election, and the 2012 United Kingdom local elections. Although Conservati ...

. At the

2012 London mayoral election The 2012 London mayoral election was an election held on Thursday 3 May 2012, to elect the Mayor of London. It was held on the same day as the London Assembly election, and used a supplementary vote system. Incumbent Tory mayor and future Pr ...

, the party's candidate Jenny Jones finished third; she lost her deposit.

Natalie Bennett (2012–2016)

In May 2012, Lucas announced that she would not seek re-election to the post of party leader. In September, Australian-born former journalist

Natalie Bennett Natalie Louise Bennett, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (born 10 February 1966), is an Australian-British politician and journalist who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2012 to 2016. Bennett was given a peerage in ...

was elected party leader and

Will Duckworth Will Duckworth (born 20 January 1954) is a former British politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2012 to 2014. He was the first Green Party councillor in the Black Country after serving on the Dudl ...

deputy leader in the leadership 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. The 2013 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 the local government elections the following year, the Greens gained 18 seats overall. In London, the party won four seats, a gain of two. It held seats in Camden and

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

, and gaining seats in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

and

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

. In 2013, there were allegations of factionalism and infighting in the party between liberal,

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, and eco-anarchist factions. At the 2014 European elections, the Green Party finished fourth, above the Liberal Democrats, winning more than 1.2 million votes. The party also increased its European Parliament representation, gaining one seat in the

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

region. In September 2014, the Green Party held its 2014 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 Amelia Helen Womack (born 12 January 1985) is a British Green Party of England and Wales politician. She served as the party's Deputy Leader from 2014 to 2022. She is a co-chair of the People's Assembly Against Austerity, and co-founded Another ...

and

Shahrar Ali Mohammad Shahrar Ali, known as Shahrar Ali (), is a British politician and university manager who served as deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2014 to 2016. He stood for election to be leader of the Green Party in 2018, ...

won the two positions, succeeding former deputy leader Duckworth. 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. 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 The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...

, held by Lucas since 2010,

Norwich South Norwich South is a constituency in Norfolk represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, since 2015 by Clive Lewis, of the Labour Party. History The constituency was created by the Representation of the People ...

, a Liberal Democrat seat where June 2014 polling put the Greens in second place behind Labour,

Bristol West Bristol West was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Thangam Debbonaire of the Labour Party. It mostly covered the central and western parts of Bristol. Following t ...

, 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 Oxford East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Anneliese Dodds of the Labour Party. Created in 1983, the constituency covers the eastern and southern parts of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It bor ...

,

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

,

Reading East Reading East was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. In the 2019–2024 Parliament, it was one of two Labour seats from a total of eight seats in Berkshire. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Re ...

, and three more seats with high student populations – York Central,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, and Holborn and St. Pancras, where leader Bennett stood as the candidate. In December 2014, the Green Party announced that it had more than doubled its overall membership from 1 January that year to 30,809. 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 with

YouGov YouGov plc is a international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. History 2000–2010 Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim ...

's national polls, ahead of the Liberal Democrats, and gaining more than 25% of the vote with 18 to 24-year-olds. This rapid increase in support for the party is referred to by media as the "Green Surge". The hashtag "#GreenSurge" has also been popular on social media (such as

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

) from Green Party members and supporters and, , the combined Green Party membership in the UK stood at 44,713; greater than the number of members of

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

(at 41,943), and the Liberal Democrats (at 44,576). Natalie Bennett Take Back Our World

Views subsequently fell back as the 2015 general election opinion polls arrived: a Press Association poll of polls on 3 April, for example, put the Greens fifth with 5.4%. However, membership statistics continued to surge, with the party attaining 60,000 in England and Wales that April. At the 2015 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%. Overnight, the membership numbers increased to more than 63,000. However, at the local government elections the party lost 9 out of their 20 seats on the Brighton and Hove council, losing minority control. Nationwide, the Greens increased their share of councillors, gaining an additional 10 council seats while failing to gain overall control of any individual council.

Lucas and Bartley (2016–2018)

On 15 May 2016, Bennett announced she would not be standing for re-election in the party's biennial

leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a ...

due to take place in the summer. Former leader Lucas and Jonathan Bartley announced two weeks later that they intended to stand for leadership as a job share arrangement. 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. Lucas first suggested "progressive pacts" to work on a number of issues including combating climate change and for electoral reform, following the results of the 2015 general election. She then reiterated the call alongside Bartley as they announced their plan to share the leadership of the party. Following the vote to leave the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

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. The Green Party stood in 457 seats in the 2017 general election, securing 1.6% of the overall vote, and an average of 2.2% in seats it stood in. While it was a disappointing result after the 2015 success, this was still the second-best Green result in a general election, and

Brighton Pavilion The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...

remained Green with an increased majority. On 30 May 2018, Lucas announced she would not seek re-election in the 2018 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election and would stand down as co-leader. On 1 June 2018, Bartley announced a co-leadership bid alongside

Siân Berry Siân Rebecca Berry (; born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion since July 2024, succeeding Caroline Lucas. She was a co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongsid ...

, former candidate for the Mayor of London in 2008 and 2016.

Bartley and Berry (2018–2021)

Bartley and Berry were elected as co-leaders in September 2018, winning 6,279 of 8,329 votes. In the 2019 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. 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. The membership also saw another climb in 2019, returning to 50,000 members in September. In September 2020, it was announced that Bartley and Berry had won re-election for another two-year term. In the 2021 local elections, the Green Party gained their first ever councillors in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

and

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

, as well as making significant gains in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

. In total 88 seats were gained, challenging the Liberal Democrats to become England's third-largest party. 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 the

2021 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election The 2021 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election was held from August to September 2021 to select a new leader or leaders of the Green Party of England and Wales. It was triggered by Jonathan Bartley's announcement on 5 July 2021 t ...

. Berry remained as acting leader, but said she would not stand in the leadership election following disagreements within the party.

Denyer and Ramsay (2021–present)

The Bristol councillor,

Carla Denyer Carla Suzanne Denyer (born 24 September 1985) is a British politician who has been the Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongside Adrian Ramsay since 2021 and the Member of Parliam ...

and the former deputy leader,

Adrian Ramsay Adrian Philip Ramsay is a British politician who has served as co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales since 2021 and as the Member of Parliament for Waveney Valley since 2024. He was previously the deputy leader of the Green Party ...

were

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

as co-leaders on 1 October 2021. 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 the 2022 local elections the Green Party made a net gain of 71 seats – including in both Conservative and Labour "safe seats". On 7 September 2022, it was announced that

Zack Polanski Zack Polanski (born David Paulden; 2 November 1982) is a British politician who has been Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, the deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales since 2022. He has been a Londonwide membe ...

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. In October 2022, at their national conference the

Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; ) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has 7 MSPs of 129 in the Scottish Parliament, the party holds 35 of the 1226 councillors at Scottish local Government level. The ...

voted to sever ties with the Green Party of England and Wales, specially over the issue of

transphobia Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender or transsexual people, or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to socia ...

. 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. The LGBTIQA+ Greens also responded by saying it would "continue to fight transphobia". At the 2023 local elections, the Green Party gained more than 200 councillors across England, and won majority control of

Mid Suffolk District Council Mid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. The district is primarily a rural area, containing just three towns, being Stowmarket, Needham Market and Eye. Its council was based in Needham Market until 2017 when it moved to sha ...

, the party's first ever council majority. Despite losing control of

Brighton and Hove City Council Brighton and Hove City Council is the local authority for Brighton and Hove, a local government district with city status in the ceremonial county of East Sussex, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also per ...

, the Greens became the largest party on

East Hertfordshire District Council East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

and

Lewes District Council Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the South Downs. A traditional market town ...

. 2023 saw the party's best ever results in a local election. In the 2024 local elections, the Greens aimed to make gains in

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

,

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

. In the south west the Greens became the largest party on

Bristol City Council Bristol City Council is the local authority for the city of Bristol, in South West England. Bristol has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1996 the council has been a unitary authority, being ...

failing to win an outright majority by a single seat. They made a breakthrough in

Northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

by winning their first ever seats on

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local authority for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. Newcastle has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. ...

and

Sefton Council Sefton Council, or Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the borou ...

. It was noted that the Greens benefited from anger at Labour over the

Israel–Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

when they won their first seat on

Bolton Council Bolton Council, or Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is a Metropolitan Borough Council and provides the majority of local government services in th ...

. After gaining 74 seats across England and increasing their total to 812, the Greens hailed 2024 as their best ever local election result. On 8 June 2023, the Green Party's only MP,

Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...

, announced she would not be standing for re-election at the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

. Former party co-leader,

Siân Berry Siân Rebecca Berry (; born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion since July 2024, succeeding Caroline Lucas. She was a co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongsid ...

, stood as the Green candidate in

Brighton Pavilion The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...

. Along with Brighton Pavilion, the Greens targeted three other seats in the general election:

Bristol Central Bristol Central is a parliamentary constituency located within the City of Bristol in South West England. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 2024, it has been repres ...

,

Waveney Valley Waveney Valley is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, created following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. Since its first election in 2024, it has been represented by Adrian Ramsay of the Green Part ...

and

North Herefordshire North Herefordshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Ellie Chowns of the Green Party of England and Wales. It is the first Green seat in the West Midlands region. Constituency profile Th ...

. In what turned out to be the Greens' best ever general election, Berry held Brighton Pavilion, while Denyer gained Bristol Central, defeating Labour incumbent and Shadow Culture Secretary

Thangam Debbonaire Thangam Elizabeth Rachel Debbonaire, Baroness Debbonaire (' Singh; born 3 August 1966) is a British politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol West between 2015 and 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she served as Shadow S ...

; Ramsay won Waveney Valley, a notional gain from the Conservatives, and

Ellie Chowns Eleanor Elizabeth Chowns (born 7 March 1975) is a British Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typ ...

won North Herefordshire, defeating Conservative incumbent

Bill Wiggin Sir William David Wiggin (born 4 June 1966) is a former British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Herefordshire, previously Leominster, from 2001 to 2024. Early life and career Bill Wiggin was born ...

. Carla Denyer is stepping down as Green Party co-leader to focus on her MP role, as leadership nominations open on 2 June 2025 and voting runs through August 2025, with results announced on 2 September 2025. Deputy leader Zack Polanski has launched his bid, calling for a bolder party approach.

Ideology and policy

Sociologist Chris Rootes stated that the Green Party took "the

left-libertarian Left-libertarianism, also known as left-wing libertarianism, is a political philosophy and type of libertarianism that stresses both individual freedom and social equality. Left-libertarianism represents several related yet distinct approaches to ...

" vote, while

James Dennison James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince James ...

characterised it as reflecting "libertarian-universalistic values". The party wants an end to

big government Big government is a term that refers to a government or public sector that is considered excessively large or unconstitutionally involved in certain areas of public policy or the private sector. The term may also be used specifically concerning ...

, 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 of

big business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...

, which, they argue, upholds the unsustainable trend of

globalisation Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

, and is detrimental to local trade and economies. The Green Party publishes a

party platform A political party platform (American English), party program, or party manifesto (preferential term in British and often Commonwealth English) is a formal set of principal goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, t ...

: a full set of its policies, as approved by successive party conferences, collectively entitled ''Policies for a Sustainable Society'' (originally ''The Manifesto for a Sustainable Society'' before February 2010).

Manifestos

The party publishes a

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

for each of its election campaigns. Separate from this, the Greens have a set of Core Values, a Philosophical Basis and a series of Long-term Goals. For the 2015 general election, the party's manifesto outlined many new policies, including a

Robin Hood tax The Robin Hood tax is a package of financial transaction taxes (FTT) proposed by a campaigning group of civil society non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Campaigners have suggested the tax could be implemented globally, regionally, or unil ...

on banks and a 60% tax on those earning more than £150,000. For the 2019 general election, the party's manifesto had four key sections: "remain and transform", which advocated for the UK to reverse its decision to leave the EU and increase cross-border co-operation with the EU; "grow democracy", which aimed to overhaul the UK's current 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, the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

, education, countryside conservation, discrimination, crime, drug reform, animal rights, and the implementation of a

universal basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to perform Work (hu ...

; and the "new deal for tax and spend", which outlined the party's economic policies such as simplifying income tax, increasing

corporation tax A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax or corporate income tax, is a type of direct tax levied on the income or capital of corporations and other similar legal entities. The tax is usually imposed at the national level, but i ...

to make big businesses pay their fair share, supporting small businesses, and ending wasteful spending. For the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, the party's manifesto followed the slogan "Real hope. Real change." Their manifesto focused on providing a "secure future", solving the

climate crisis ''Climate crisis'' is a term that is used to describe global warming and climate change and their effects. This term and the term ''climate emergency'' have been used to emphasize the threat of global warming to Earth's natural environment an ...

, 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.

Economic policy

The Green Party believes in "an economy that works for all". This includes steps to eliminate poverty with social policies such as increasing the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

in line with the living wage. In October 2021, the party stated its support for a £15 an hour minimum wage. The party supports moving towards a four-day work week; which it is claimed would boost productivity and growth, with Mondays and Fridays being the least productive days in the week. In November 2019, the Greens pledged to introduce a

universal basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to perform Work (hu ...

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). 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. The policy also aims to tackle the rising levels of automation that threaten to put millions out of work and fundamentally change British industry. The Green Party wanted to raise

corporation tax A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax or corporate income tax, is a type of direct tax levied on the income or capital of corporations and other similar legal entities. The tax is usually imposed at the national level, but i ...

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 for

fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...

s and replace them with subsidies for

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

sources such as wind, solar power and tidal power. Investment in

green energy Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the environment, the economy, and so ...

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 the

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...

and free time index. They believe that uncontrolled economic growth has contributed to

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

and

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

and that more steps should be taken to ensure that growth is sustainable and keeps environmental damage to a minimum. 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. The party supports bringing energy and water companies, public transport including buses and railways, as well as

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

into public ownership. They have also called for social care to be free at the point of use.

Environmental policy

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. 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. 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. Instead it would invest in renewable energy sources, including wind power, solar power and

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

, as well as new and emerging renewable technologies, such as

tidal power Tidal power or tidal energy is harnessed by converting energy from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity using various methods. Although not yet widely used, tidal energy has the potential for future electricity generation. T ...

and

wave power Wave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful mechanical work, work – for example, electricity generation, desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power (physics), power is a wave energy converter (WEC). W ...

. The party also supports the use of

marine energy Marine energy, also known as ocean energy, ocean power, or marine and hydrokinetic energy, refers to energy harnessed from waves, tides, salinity gradients, and temperature differences in the ocean. The movement of water in the world's oceans sto ...

and

geothermal energy Geothermal energy is thermal energy extracted from the crust (geology), crust. It combines energy from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay. Geothermal energy has been exploited as a source of heat and/or electric power for m ...

. This would coincide with an aim to cut energy use through methods such as home insulation. The party aims for the UK to become carbon neutral. The Green Party Manifesto for the

2019 UK general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 12 December 2019, with 47,074,800 registered voters entitled to vote to elect 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. The governing Conservative Party, led by Prim ...

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.

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 ban

trophy hunting Trophy hunting is a form of hunting for field sports, sport in which parts of the hunted wild animals are kept and displayed as trophies. The animal being targeted, known as the "game (hunting), game", is typically a mature male specimen from a p ...

and

trail hunting Trail hunting is a legal, although controversial, alternative to hunting animals with hounds in Great Britain. A trail of animal urine (most commonly fox) is laid in advance of the 'hunt', and then tracked by the hound pack and a group of follower ...

.

Foreign policy and defence

Since at least 1992, the party has emphasised unilateral

nuclear disarmament Nuclear disarmament is the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons. Its end state can also be a nuclear-weapons-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated. The term ''denuclearization'' is also used to describe the pro ...

and called for rejection of the UK's Trident nuclear missile programme. To campaign for the latter, in 2015 it teamed up with the organisation,

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucl ...

(CND), and the political parties,

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

, and the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

(SNP). Former Leader

Natalie Bennett Natalie Louise Bennett, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (born 10 February 1966), is an Australian-British politician and journalist who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2012 to 2016. Bennett was given a peerage in ...

has advocated replacing the British Army with a "home defence force", according to ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

''. Green Party policy formerly stated that "in the long term, it would take the UK out of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

". In 2014,

Natalie Bennett Natalie Louise Bennett, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (born 10 February 1966), is an Australian-British politician and journalist who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2012 to 2016. Bennett was given a peerage in ...

led an anti-NATO march in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

. In 2022, the party formally supported withdrawal from NATO, but not before the end of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. This changed in March 2023, when the party abandoned its opposition to NATO. 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. The party opposed the UK's involvement in the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

, the

invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...

, military intervention in LibyaGreen Party Deputy Leader to speak at international anti-war conference.
". ''GreenParty.org.uk.'' 5 June 2015. and opposes British involvement in the

Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sa ...

. The party campaigns for the rights of

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

around the world and argues for greater

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

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 of

international debt International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

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. The Green Party advocate for a less "bully boy culture" from the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

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. Amid the toughening rhetoric surrounding immigration at the 2015 general election, the Greens issued mugs emblazoned with the slogan "Standing Up For Immigrants". 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.

Drug policy

The Green Party has an official

drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...

s group, for drugs policy and research. The party wants to end the prohibition of drugs and create a system of legal regulation in order to minimise the harm associated with drug use as well as the harm associated with its production and supply. 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). 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. The party considers the drugs issue to be a health issue, rather than a criminal one. The party also supports opening overdose prevention centres in towns and cities in order to prevent fatal overdoses, the transmission of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

,

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...

and other illnesses, as well as offering a place for drug users to access health and treatment services. The party supports devolving the decision-making on whether to open these sites to police, health services and local authorities. 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.

Sexual orientation and gender identity

The stated aim of the sexual orientation and gender identity group within the party, known as LGBTIQA+ Greens, is to

raise awareness Consciousness raising (also called awareness raising) is a form of activism popularized by United States feminists in the late 1960s. It often takes the form of a group of people attempting to focus the attention of a wider group on some cause or ...

on LGBTIQA+ rights and issues affecting the broader LGBTIQA+ community, as well as broader Green politics. The LGBTIQA+ Greens are a Special Interest Group of the party, colloquially known as a Liberation Group. the co-chairs of the group are Matt Rogan and Kat Bristow. 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 the

Gender Recognition Act The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows adults in the United Kingdom who have gender dysphoria to change their legal sex. It came into effect on 4 April 2005. Background The act was dra ...

that requires applications for a

Gender Recognition Certificate The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is an Act of Parliament, act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows adults in the United Kingdom who have gender dysphoria to change their legal sex. It came into effect on 4 April 2005. Backgroun ...

to include written consent from an applicant's spouse) and on "mak ngequal marriage truly equal" by amending pension inheritance rights. Bennett has also voiced support for

polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

and

polyamorous Polyamory () is the practice of, or the desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. Some people who identify as polyamorous believe in consensual non-mono ...

relationships. The Green Party supports

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

and, on

Brighton and Hove City Council Brighton and Hove City Council is the local authority for Brighton and Hove, a local government district with city status in the ceremonial county of East Sussex, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also per ...

, expelled Christina Summers in 2012 due to opposition to same-sex marriage legislation on religious grounds. Some issues of trans rights have caused divisions in the Green Party, such as when

Siân Berry Siân Rebecca Berry (; born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion since July 2024, succeeding Caroline Lucas. She was a co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongsid ...

cited opposition to her support for trans rights as a reason for stepping down as co-leader. In the subsequent

leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a ...

, candidate

Shahrar Ali Mohammad Shahrar Ali, known as Shahrar Ali (), is a British politician and university manager who served as deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2014 to 2016. He stood for election to be leader of the Green Party in 2018, ...

's comments on trans rights led to the Young Greens to call for his expulsion. 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 the

Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act 2010 (c. 15) is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed during the Brown ministry with the primary purpose of consolidating, updating and supplementing the numerous prior Acts and Regulations, that formed the basis o ...

. In February 2024, the Mayor'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 inline with their party's values. At the 2021 Conference, the Green Party voted in favour of

gender self-identification Gender self-identification or gender self-determination is the concept that a person's legal sex or gender is determined by their gender identity, without medical or judicial requirements. It is a major goal of the transgender rights movement. Ad ...

and voted down a motion that women were discriminated against "solely upon their biological sex", which opponents claimed excluded trans women. The

Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; ) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has 7 MSPs of 129 in the Scottish Parliament, the party holds 35 of the 1226 councillors at Scottish local Government level. The ...

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 ho hadinsulted he Scottish Greensand sought to damage he Scottish party'sreputation regarding LGBT+ rights, women's rights, and child protection issues". 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". The Green Party opposed the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC) is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases ...

rulings limiting transgender civil rights, and supports transgender rights.

Transport

The Green Party has called for "A People's Transport System" 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 a

green transport hierarchy The green transport hierarchy (Canada), also called mobility pyramid, reverse traffic pyramid, street user hierarchy (US), sustainable transport hierarchy (Wales), urban transport hierarchy or road user hierarchy (Australia, UK) is a hierarchy of ...

of transport that would need to be followed by all levels of government: Green-transport-hierarchy-pictogram

# Walking and disabled access. # Cycling. # Public transport (trains, light rail/trams, buses and ferries) and rail and water-borne freight. # Light goods vehicles, taxis and low powered motorcycles. # Private motorised transport (cars & high powered motorcycles). # Heavy goods vehicles. # Aeroplanes. One of the flagship and long-standing policies in this field is returning the railways to public ownership along with renationalising other forms of transport. The party opposed

High Speed 2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which has been under construction in England since 2019. The line's planned route is between Handsacre – in southern Staffordshire – and London, with a Spur line, branch to Birmingham. HS2 is to ...

(HS2) at first, in favour of alternative transport strategies. 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. In September 2024, members of the party voted to reverse its stance on HS2 to being in favour of building the full project.

Tuition fees

The party supports scrapping university and further education fees. It supports all courses in further education being provided free at the point of use. 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 the
Student Loans Company Student Loans Company Limited (SLC) is an executive non-departmental public body company in the United Kingdom that provides student loans. It is owned by the UK Government's Department for Education (85%), the Scottish Government (5%), the We ...
(SLC) and currently held by the UK government".

Governance

Global governance

The party campaigns for greater accountability in global governance, with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

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 the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

,

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

and

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

reformed, democratised or even replaced. The party also wishes to prioritise social and environmental sustainability as a global policy.

National governance

The party advocates ending the

first past the post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

system for UK parliamentary elections and replacing it with a form of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

. The party has also advocated for the inclusion of a Re-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". In their long-term goals, they advocate that "The monarchy shall cease to be an office of government. The legislative, executive and judicial roles of the monarch shall cease." The party supports the

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...

. It advocates that the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

be disestablished from the British state and become self-governing. The party supported Scottish independence in the

2014 Scottish independence referendum A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or ...

. In February 2021, the Green Party announced that it supported a referendum on

Welsh independence Welsh independence () is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the killing of Llywelyn the ...

and would campaign in favour of independence if a referendum were to be held, following a 2020 conference vote. For the 2024 election, the Welsh branch backed Welsh independence in their manifesto. The party's general policy is to support the

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, should they wish to secede from the United Kingdom. Unlike the UK's other prominent political parties, the Green Party regularly fields candidates against the

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

in general elections and they typically receive the largest vote share after the Speaker.

European Union

The Green Party was

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

for the 1994 European Parliament elections. The party supported the 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". The party has criticised the

Common Agricultural Policy The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Commission. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce ...

, the

Common Fisheries Policy The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is the fishery, fisheries policy of the European Union (EU). It sets quotas for which Member state of the European Union, member states are allowed to catch each type of fish, as well as encouraging the fishin ...

and the "excessive influence" of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

in comparison to the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

and

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

, describing it as "undemocratic and unaccountable". 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". 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, as
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
has done.

The party came out in favour of the UK remaining in the EU in February 2016, prior to the EU referendum in June 2016. Reasons the party cited for supporting remaining in the EU included the protection of workers rights and environmental standards.

Organisation and structure

The party has two governing bodies – the Green Party Executive (GPEx), and the Green Party Regional Council. Day-to-day management of party affairs, as well as party finances and employment of staff are handled by the GPEx. The GPRC is 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.

Member groups

There are a number of member groups affiliated to the Green Party. The youth wing of the Green Party, the

Young Greens of England and Wales The Young Greens of England and Wales (YGEW) is the official youth branch of the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW). All members of the GPEW who are under 30 years old and/or full or part-time students are members of the Young Greens and a ...

, 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. Groups: * Association of Green Councillors * Greens for Animal Protection * Greens of Colour * Green Party Disability Group * Feminist Greens * Jewish Greens *

Green Left The term green left refers primarily to a political affiliation that combines elements of green politics and left-wing politics in countries where the term is used. It is primarily a social justice and human rights oriented ideology, with an exp ...

* LGBTIQA+ Greens * Green Seniors * Green Party Trade Union Group * Green Party Women * Young Greens

Membership and finances

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). 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". Membership increased rapidly in 2014, more than doubling in that year. 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 The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; ) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has 7 MSPs of 129 in the Scottish Parliament, the party holds 35 of the 1226 councillors at Scottish local Government level. The ...

, and

Green Party Northern Ireland The Green Party Northern Ireland, sometimes abbreviated as Green Party NI, is a political party in Northern Ireland. Like many green political parties around the world, its origins lie in the anti-nuclear, labour and peace movements of the 19 ...

) had risen to 43,829 members, surpassing

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

's membership of 41,966, and making it the third-largest UK-wide political party in the UK in terms of membership. 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 the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

(SNP), which at the time had a membership of 92,187 members but is not a UK-wide party. Membership of the party peaked at more than 67,000 members in the summer of 2015 after the general election, but later declined subsequent to

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

becoming leader of the Labour Party. For the year ending 31 December 2019, Green Party income had increased to £3,454,562 and expenditure to £3,177,323.

Support base

According to political scientist Sarah Birch, the Green Party draws support from "a wide spectrum of the population". 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". 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. She noted that there were also strong correlations between areas of high Green support and high percentages of people who define themselves as having no religion. Birch noted that sociological polling revealed 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".

Spokespeople

The party has a number of Spokespeople, appointed by the party's ruling Green Party Executive Committee.

Election results

The party has four members of Parliament, two members of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, three members of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

, and hundreds of councillors who have been elected at the local level.

House of Commons

Brighton Pavilion The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...

was the Green Party's first seat, won at the 2010 general election and then held at each subsequent election in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. A further three seats were won in 2024 –

Bristol Central Bristol Central is a parliamentary constituency located within the City of Bristol in South West England. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 2024, it has been repres ...

,

North Herefordshire North Herefordshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Ellie Chowns of the Green Party of England and Wales. It is the first Green seat in the West Midlands region. Constituency profile Th ...

, and

Waveney Valley Waveney Valley is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, created following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. Since its first election in 2024, it has been represented by Adrian Ramsay of the Green Part ...

. As with other small parties, representation at the House of Commons has been hindered by the

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

system, 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.

House of Lords

The party's first

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

was

Baron Beaumont of Whitley Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

, who defected from the Liberal Democrat group of peers in 1999, spoke frequently in the house and died in 2008.

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

became the next peer, 2013–present. Former party leader Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle joined her in 2019. She was appointed on the back of continued strong election results for the party, through

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

's resignation honours list.

European Parliament

Since the first UK election to the European Parliament with proportional representation, in June 1999, the Green Party of England and Wales has had representation in the European Parliament. From 1999 to 2010, the two MEPs were

Jean Lambert Jean Denise Lambert (born Jean Denise Archer; 1 June 1950 in Orsett, Essex) is an English politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament for the London Region between 1999 and 2019. Early life and career She attended Palmer's G ...

(London) and Lucas (South East England). In 2010, on election to the House of Commons, Lucas resigned her seat and was succeeded by Keith Taylor. In May 2014, Taylor and Lambert held their seats, and were joined by

Molly Scott Cato Sarah Margaret "Molly" Scott Cato (born 21 May 1963) is a British Green Party of England and Wales, Green politician, economist and activist. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England (European Parliament c ...

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. In May 2019, this number rose to seven:

Scott Ainslie Scott John Ainslie (born 27 December 1968) is a British politician and actor. He was elected as a Green Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London in the 2019 European parliamentary election. He held this role until the United Ki ...

(London),

Ellie Chowns Eleanor Elizabeth Chowns (born 7 March 1975) is a British Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typ ...

(West Midlands),

Gina Dowding Gina Dowding (born 15 July 1962) is a British politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England (European Parliament constituency), North West England from 2019 to 2020, on behalf of the Green Party of Engl ...

(North West England),

Magid Magid Magid Magid (, born 26 June 1989), also known as Magid Mah and Magic Magid, is a Somali-British activist and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of Sheffield from May 2018 to May 2019. His appointment attracted significant media attention, ...

(Yorkshire and the Humber), Alexandra Phillips (South East England),

Catherine Rowett Catherine Joanna Rowett (born 29 December 1956, previously publishing as Catherine Osborne from 1979 to 2011) is a British academic and former Member of the European Parliament representing the Green Party of England and Wales. She is Professor ...

(East of England), and the re-elected Scott Cato.

Local government

The party has representation at local government level in England and Wales. The party had its first local mayor, Peter Christie, in 1985 in

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

. From the early 1990s until 2009, the number of Green local councillors rose from none to more than 100. In 2011, the party led a council for the first time, when they took minority control of

Brighton and Hove City Council Brighton and Hove City Council is the local authority for Brighton and Hove, a local government district with city status in the ceremonial county of East Sussex, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also per ...

following the 2011 Brighton and Hove City Council election. In July 2020, the Green Party again took minority control of Brighton, following the collapse of the Labour Party's minority administration. The

2023 United Kingdom local elections The 2023 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday, 4 May 2023 in England and on Thursday 18 May 2023 in 2023 Northern Ireland local elections, Northern Ireland. These included Non-metropolitan district, district council ...

saw the Greens' winning an overall council majority for the first time on

Mid Suffolk District Council Mid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. The district is primarily a rural area, containing just three towns, being Stowmarket, Needham Market and Eye. Its council was based in Needham Market until 2017 when it moved to sha ...

. Following the

2024 United Kingdom local elections The 2024 United Kingdom local elections took place on 2 May 2024 to choose 2,658 councillors on 107 councils in England, 11 directly elected mayors in England, the 25 members of the London Assembly, and 37 police and crime commissioners in ...

Greens led coalitions on Babergh, Bristol,

East Hertfordshire East Hertfordshire is one of ten Non-metropolitan district, local government districts in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire. The largest town in the district is Bishop's Stortford, and th ...

, East Suffolk, Folkestone & Hythe,

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

, 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 the 2025 local elections had reached an all-time high of 859 seats on 181 different councils.

Current and former representatives

House of Commons

File:Official portrait of Siân Berry MP crop 2.jpg,

Siân Berry Siân Rebecca Berry (; born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion since July 2024, succeeding Caroline Lucas. She was a co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongsid ...

MP (

Brighton Pavilion The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...

), 2024–present File:Official portrait of Ellie Chowns MP crop 2.jpg,

Ellie Chowns Eleanor Elizabeth Chowns (born 7 March 1975) is a British Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typ ...

MP (

North Herefordshire North Herefordshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Ellie Chowns of the Green Party of England and Wales. It is the first Green seat in the West Midlands region. Constituency profile Th ...

), 2024–present File:Carla Denyer MP portrait cropped.jpg,

Carla Denyer Carla Suzanne Denyer (born 24 September 1985) is a British politician who has been the Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongside Adrian Ramsay since 2021 and the Member of Parliam ...

MP (

Bristol Central Bristol Central is a parliamentary constituency located within the City of Bristol in South West England. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 2024, it has been repres ...

), 2024–present File:Adrian Ramsay MP portrait cropped.jpg,

Adrian Ramsay Adrian Philip Ramsay is a British politician who has served as co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales since 2021 and as the Member of Parliament for Waveney Valley since 2024. He was previously the deputy leader of the Green Party ...

MP (

Waveney Valley Waveney Valley is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, created following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. Since its first election in 2024, it has been represented by Adrian Ramsay of the Green Part ...

), 2024–present

House of Lords

File:Official portrait of Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb crop 2, 2022.jpg,

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

2013–present File:Official portrait of Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle crop 2, 2023.jpg, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, 2019–present

Former

House of Commons

*

Cynog Dafis Cynog Glyndwr Dafis (born 1 April 1938) is a Welsh politician and member of Plaid Cymru who served as the Member of Parliament for Ceredigion from 1992 to 2000, originally as a joint Plaid Cymru– Green Party MP until 1997 and then only as a ...

MP (

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

), 1992–2000 (ran on a Joint Ticket with

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

and was a member of the Green Party until 1997. Caroline Lucas is usually considered the first Green MP for this reason) *

Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...

MP (

Brighton Pavilion The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...

), 2010–2024

House of Lords

* George MacLeod, Baron MacLeod of Fuinary, 198?–1991. *

Baron Beaumont of Whitley Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

, 1999–2008 (originally a peer for Liberals between 1967 and 1988 and

Lib Dems The Liberal Democrats, colloquially known as the Lib Dems, are a Liberalism, liberal political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1988. They are based at Liberal Democrat Headquarters (UK), Liberal Democrat Headquarters, in Westminster, ...

between 1988 and 1999)

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History

Origins (1972–1990)

Early years (1990–2008)

Caroline Lucas (2008–2012)

Natalie Bennett (2012–2016)

Lucas and Bartley (2016–2018)

Bartley and Berry (2018–2021)

Denyer and Ramsay (2021–present)

Ideology and policy

Manifestos

Economic policy

Environmental policy

Foreign policy and defence

Drug policy

Sexual orientation and gender identity

Transport

Tuition fees

Governance

Global governance

National governance

European Union

Organisation and structure

Member groups

Membership and finances

Support base

Spokespeople

Election results

House of Commons

House of Lords

European Parliament

Local government

Current and former representatives

House of Commons

House of Lords

Former

House of Commons

House of Lords

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading

External links