The Green Party is drawing support from voters who previously backed Reform UK, according to its newest MP, Hannah Spencer. Spencer, who won the Gorton and Denton by-election earlier this year, told The Independent that the Greens are “now the option for people who are fed up of Labour, who are worried about Reform, or who actually have tried Reform”.
Spencer, 34, said public trust in Reform UK has declined since the party secured over four million votes in the 2024 general election. She argued that Reform targeted “exhausted and tired people” with promises it could not deliver, and that voters are now turning to the Greens as a viable alternative. “They’re now looking at another opportunity to have change in this country, and it is the Greens,” she added.
Elections expert Lord Hayward supported Spencer’s claims, telling The Independent he has observed voters switching from Reform to the Greens due to a growing “disenchantment with politics”. He cited a recent Kent County Council by-election where the Greens took a previously safe Reform seat after the incumbent councillor was jailed. “That was a very safe Reform seat, which went with a clear majority to the Greens. My expectation is that some of that rise of the Greens was people making a direct switch from Reform,” Hayward said.
The shift comes despite stark policy differences between the two parties. The Greens advocate a more “humane” approach to immigration and ultimately envision a “world without borders”, while Reform UK has proposed mass deportations. Nonetheless, Hayward noted that disgruntled voters are seeking new outlets for their frustration: “They are basically fed up with politicians. And the ‘fed up party’… was the Liberal Democrats. They then moved to the Reform Party. But they’ve now got another option, which is the Green Party.”
Reform UK appears to be losing momentum, with a More in Common poll released this week showing its support has fallen by five points to 25 per cent, while the Conservatives have risen to 22 per cent. Spencer attributed her by-election victory to offering voters a “political reset” focused on hope rather than division, saying it gave people “the chance to do something completely different”.
