Green Party 'would unseat three cabinet ministers' and 16 Labour frontbenchers 'face losing seats', poll reveals | LBC
Darren Jones, the Prime Minister’s top aide, Business Secretary Peter Kyle, and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, face losing their seats to the Greens, according to the latest polling.
Want LBC stories before everyone else? Set us as your Preferred Source on Google
The Green Party would unseat three cabinet ministers and quadruple the number of seats it holds in Parliament if an election were held today, a new poll has revealed.
Zack Polanski’s party would secure 22 parliamentary seats in a general election, up from the five it currently holds, the survey of more than 15,000 Brits suggests.
It comes after Mr Polanski predicted a "tidal wave of new MPs" after following the historic Gorton and Denton by-election triumph - which saw the Greens' Hannah Spencer clinch the Greater Manchester seat with 14,980 votes to secure the party's first-ever parliamentary by-election win.
The poll also revealed that up to sixteen Labour frontbenchers face losing their seats in a concerning sign for Sir Keir Starmer as his popularity continues to plummet.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Defence Secretary John Healey are all at risk of losing their seats to Reform, the MRP poll showed.
Darren Jones, the Prime Minister’s top aide, Business Secretary Peter Kyle, and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, face losing their seats to the Greens.
Read more: Green Party beat Reform UK to win Kent by-election after councillor jailed
Read more: 'Who is Labour representing?': Unite boss warns government at risk of decimation at polls
In total, 12 Labour frontbenchers would lose out to Reform, while three would be lost to the Greens and one to an independent.
Nigel Farage's Reform emerged as a clear winner, securing 324 seats. This is just shy of a majority.
Meanwhile, Labour would win just 101 seats in a staggering drop from its 310 MPs seats following its sweeping 2024 general election victory.
The Conservatives would win only 81 seats, down 40 from its dismal result in the last election.
The seat-by-seat MRP poll, carried out by More in Common for The Sunday Times, comes less than a month before crucial local elections on May 7.
This week, Reform UK lost its first electoral test in Kent after their by-election candidate lost to the Green Party following the jailing of one of its councillors.
The Green Party’s Rob Yates won the seat in Cliftonville, Thanet, with 2,068 votes, making up 39% of the vote, ahead of Marc Rattigan for Reform UK with 1,767 votes, making up 33%.
The race came down to the wire, with both candidates tied at 36% in the polls ahead of voting day, with Labour projected to be out of the running in third.
The by-election was triggered after ex-Reform UK councillor Daniel Taylor, of Ramsgate, Kent, was jailed for 12 months in February after admitting controlling and coercive behaviour towards his wife.
In February, an exclusive LBC poll revealed that one in four voters who backed Labour last year now regret it.
More than half (56 per cent) of all voters now have a lower opinion of Sir Keir’s government after six months in power, damning research by More in Common shows.
The public also see taking away winter fuel payments from some pensioners and slapping extra inheritance taxes on farmers is on a par with the ‘partygate’ scandal under the Tories.