A new poll threatened to spark panic in Labour ranks in London as it showed a surge in support for Zack Polanski’s Green Party.
Across the country, the YouGov survey had the Greens leapfrogging Labour after Sir Keir Starmer’s disastrous loss last week in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
The Greens jumped four percentage points in a week to 21%, their highest score recorded by the pollster, while Labour was down two points to 16%, a new low for it.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK was down one point to 23%, the Conservatives down two points to 16% and the Liberal Democrats unchanged on 14%.
Just over 160 Londoners were interviewed for the poll of some 2,000 people so its results for the capital are a flickering indicator at best.
But it put the Greens on 28%, Labour 24%, Conservatives 21%, Liberal Democrats 13% and Reform 11%.
The findings for the capital, even if they need to be treated with huge caution given the small sample size, are likely to alarm many Labour activists in the capital ahead of the local elections in May when their party is expected to suffer heavy losses.
The most recent full London poll, carried out in December, already had Labour at a record low of 31%, with Reform on 19%, the Greens 18%, the Tories 17% and Lib Dems on 13%.
Since then Mr Polanski has stormed into the political spotlight with his radical agenda including call for tens of billions in higher taxes to pay for measures to slash inequality.
The new YouGov poll comes after the Gorton and Denton by-election which was won by Green candidate Hannah Spencer with a majority of 4,402 votes.
Anthony Wells, Global Head of Politics, Elections and Public Data at YouGov, said: “This is the highest we’ve had the Greens in a voting intention poll, the first time we’ve had them in second place.
“It is also the lowest we have had Labour.”
Mr Wells explained further: “The result is likely to have been driven to a significant extent by the publicity from the Denton & Gorton by-election.
“That result may have had an impact in terms of making the Greens appear a more viable option and less of a wasted vote.
“We need to see if this result is sustained in subsequent polls to evaluate the extent to which this effect sticks, or whether it fades again as the immediate publicity boost recedes.”
As Labour reels from the Gorton and Denton by-election result, MPs have been rallying around Sir Sadiq Khan’s call for the Government to be “bolder” with policies on tackling the high cost of living, poverty, crime, the housing crisis and global warming.
The London Mayor also accused Sir Keir of a “flawed” political strategy “taking liberal, progressive voters for granted”.
Labour is facing tough battles to cling onto a string of councils in London on May 7, including Westminster, Wandsworth and Barnet which the Conservatives are seeking to regain.
The new threat, though, comes from the Greens who could gain seats in many parts of the capital, with pro-Gaza independents also likely to pick up some seats, especially in the wake of Donald Trump’s war in Iran.
Mr Farage has set Reform the goal of winning councils, with his party’s natural targets including Bexley, Bromley, Havering, Hilllingdon, as well as Barking and Dagenham.
