Ahead of the 2015 General Election, it’s Nigel Farage and UKIP who have dominated news coverage.
The purple party have won hundreds of column inches with their charismatic leader, growing support and by-election victories. However, it isn’t just UKIP who are creating a “political earthquake”. There’s another party with surging support – a significantly greener one.
Whilst UKIP have been grabbing the headlines, Natalie Bennett’s Green Party has been quietly gaining support. In January, they signed up more than 13,000 new members in a single week, overtaking the membership numbers of both UKIP and the Liberal Democrats. They are particularly popular with students and young people, with a YouGov survey in December positioning them as the second most popular party amongst students.
In The Rock’s own student survey published today, the Green Party picked up most of the 19 and 20 year-old support – while most under 25s disagreed with UKIP.
Green support is strong here in the South West, in general. At last year’s elections for the European Parliament, the Greens won a seat in the South West of England region, with Molly Scott Cato replacing the previous Conservative MEP. The electoral support for the Greens may not have the same breakneck pace as support for UKIP, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t growing.
For many, the Greens are now a genuine political alternative to the left of the Labour Party. With growing distrust of the Lib Dems, many of the young people who voted for Nick Clegg’s party in 2010 will be looking elsewhere in May. Former leader Caroline Lucas already sits in the Commons, but the Greens have a real chance of adding several more MPs to their parliamentary presence.
The Greens are a party of ambition. They care about the things that young people care about, whether that’s preserving the environment, building social housing or bringing in a living wage.
It’s easy to see why a party of left-wing ideals appeals to the young, especially those who are voting for the first time.
This time four or five years ago, they were marching through the streets of London, protesting against tuition fee increases.
This generation is politicised – they just need someone who represents their views.
But with idealism comes problems. Anyone who heard Natalie Bennett’s now infamous radio interview about housing policy in February would struggle to argue that there are no flaws in the Green Party’s plan for Britain.
Despite these flaws, though, it would be wrong to discount the Green Party as nothing more than a flash in the pan for a handful of idealistic students.
They are a party with genuine support and a plan for the UK that goes a lot further than hugging trees and rescuing polar bears.
Leave a Reply