Greens ready to ‘bury’ Labour, says Polanski as London councillors defect
The Labour defections to the Greens come as the party's membership has surged to more than 180,000, up from some 70,000
Five Labour councillors have defected to the Green Party in what is claimed to be the largest mass move to the party of its kind.
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Green leader Zack Polanski welcomed the five councillors, all representing areas in the London borough of Brent, to his party, claiming their move "mirrors what we're hearing across the country".
Mr Polanski told a press conference in Wembley that Labour’s unpopularity meant he was more concerned about stopping voters choosing Reform UK than peeling them away from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s party.
He said: “I think they are broken, and I think we’re ready to bury them.
“I think the real challenge really is, how do we make sure people don’t pick up on the politics of hate and division that Reform are offering.”
The move could spark worries in Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's governing party about its prospects at forthcoming elections next May, as it continues to remain unpopular in opinion polls.
The Labour defections to the Greens come as the party's membership has surged to more than 180,000, up from some 70,000 when Mr Polanski was elected leader in September.
The five Brent councillors to defect from Labour include a former cabinet member, Harbi Farah, and a former whip, Iman Ahmadi-Moghaddam.
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They are joined by Mary Mitchell, Tony Ethapemi, and Erica Gbajumo in moving to the Greens.
The Green Party has recently seen several defections from Labour across London, but not in such a large block.
Mr Polanski claimed the "Green surge has just widened in London".
He added: "What we're witnessing in Brent mirrors what we're hearing across the country on doorsteps and in polls.
"Good Labour councillors can see Labour has abandoned any sense of progressive politics and is showing absolute cowardice in its doomed attempt to out-Reform Reform with the politics of division and scapegoating.
"Increasingly, people are finding the alternative they need by joining the Green Party and working for a better world shaped by hope rather than fear.
"In the elections in May, it is the Greens who will be taking the fight to Reform and we show our intent today in Brent.
"This is just the start."
Defections to the Greens from Labour mirror a similar political phenomenon on the right of politics, where Conservative councillors and ex-MPs have flocked to Nigel Farage's Reform UK.