In the week where Keir Starmer launched a scathing attack on the Green Party, the latest polling from Opinium shows the Greens outperforming both Labour and the Conservatives across most leadership and values metrics.
The Green Party performs particularly well with voters on ‘knowing what it stands for’ (+20), ‘having a clear sense of purpose’ (+13) and being ‘united’ (+12). However, they perform most poorly on ‘being ready for government’ (-31), ‘representing what most people think’ (-19), and being ‘trusted to take big decisions’ (-17).
The Greens’ leader, Zack Polanski, is currently the most popular party leader with voters at net -1, with the Lib Dems’ Ed Davey close behind on net -4. No political leader is in net positive territory with voters, with Keir Starmer most unpopular at net -43 (+2), while Kemi Badenoch is up four points at net -10 and Nigel Farage stands at net -12 (+2).
Meanwhile, nearly two in five (39%) voters say Starmer’s comments in an interview with the Observer – where he labelled the Green Party “nuts” and “dangerous” – were fair, compared to a third (33%) who thought they were unfair. 2024 Labour voters are split on the comments (+11 net fairness), whereas those currently supporting Labour supporters back Starmer more strongly (+32).
Despite the recent controversy over Nigel Farage’s alleged racist comments in his youth, Reform UK still retains a commanding lead in the polls (31%), while Labour (20%) and the Conservatives (18%) remain locked in close competition for second place. The Lib Dems (13%) and the Greens (12%) are neck and neck.
At a time when Labour are increasingly wary of the electoral threat posed by the Greens, as well as Reform, one in five (19%) Labour voters said they would likely vote for the Lib Dems if Labour were highly unlikely to win in their constituency, followed by a similar proportion (17%) who would vote for the Greens, while 11% would vote for the Conservatives and Reform, respectively.
Nearly a decade after the Brexit referendum, public opinion continues to move toward closer engagement with Europe. More than half (56%) of all respondents would like the UK either to rejoin the EU (31%) or have a closer relationship with the EU than it does now (25%), while 19% want the relationship to stay the same, and 14% would like to negotiate a more distant relationship.
A majority of the public now find major forms of EU alignment acceptable, with half of voters (49%) saying they would accept rejoining the Customs Union, with only 25% opposed (net +24). A similar proportion are in favour of rejoining the Single Market (+net 20). Half of UK adults think it would be acceptable for the UK to rejoin the European Union itself (49%), and only 38% believe it would be unacceptable (net +11).
Further afield, even as the US administration again signals its hostility to European political leaders, the U.S. has seen a marked improvement in its standing in the UK, with nearly half (48%) viewing the U.S. as an ally (up from 35% in April 2025), while a quarter (24%) see it as a threat (down from 34%). Despite mixed views on U.S. global behaviour, 69% of Britons believe the UK and the U.S. share ‘a lot in common’. Australia remains the UK’s most widely recognised ally (69%), followed by France (58%) and Germany (57%).
James Crouch, head of policy and public affairs at Opinium, said: “Zack Polanski looks set to become a painful thorn in Keir Starmer’s side in 2026 unless the prime minister can set a clearer direction of travel for his government. Until then, Labour voters will continue to be drawn to a Green Party they feel offers a stronger sense of purpose and conviction than their own. Starmer’s only breathing space is that few expect the Greens to be ready to take the reins of power any time soon.”
