The Green Party of England and Wales is aiming for a “record” number of councillors as it heads into the 1 May local elections, marking what it hopes will be the eighth consecutive year of growth.
Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said the Greens are hoping to expand on last year’s milestone of surpassing 800 councillors nationwide. At the campaign launch in Warwickshire on Tuesday, Ramsay said the UK is at a “crossroads,” and political discontent could open the door for smaller parties to shape the country’s future.
Co-leader Carla Denyer echoed that message, declaring the Greens offer “a positive choice” for voters disillusioned with the traditional parties. “We are here to say that voters have another choice a positive choice instead of one of the tired old parties, or worse, a party that is divisive, dishonest, in disarray,” she told campaigners, taking a swipe at both Labour, the Conservatives, and Reform UK.
While Reform UK has surged in national polling and now rivals the Conservatives and Labour in some surveys, the Greens have remained steady at around 9% support since the general election. The Liberal Democrats sit slightly higher, polling at around 14%.
Despite the flat polling numbers, Ramsay dismissed concerns, saying: “The polls that matter are how people vote in elections.”
The Greens are keen to highlight their local government record as a key distinction from rivals like Reform. Green councillors currently serve in the leadership of 40 local authorities, including Bristol City Council, which they took control of in 2024.
Other areas where the party has seen significant gains include Hastings, East Hertfordshire, Mid Suffolk, Lewes, and the Forest of Dean. In Warwick District Council where the Greens lead the administration Ramsay noted a £5 million investment in improving council housing insulation and energy efficiency.
“These are the sorts of practical things that Green councillors are doing for the environment, for people, and for affordable housing right around the country,” he said.
About 1,650 seats will be contested in May across 14 county councils, eight unitary authorities, one metropolitan district, and in the Isles of Scilly. Several mayoral elections are also taking place, including in the West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Hull and East Yorkshire, and Greater Lincolnshire.
However, elections in nine counties including Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Hampshire have been postponed due to ongoing reorganisation and devolution efforts announced by the government last month.
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