Climate Adam: Climate Scientists Were Wrong… That’s a good thing
Labour’s voter coalition broke more to left than right at 2026 local elections
Labour lost almost four times as many voters to the Greens than to Reform UK
- Just 46% of 2024 Labour voters who voted in this May’s council elections were loyal to the party, with more switching to the Greens (22%) than Reform UK (6%)
- 55% of voting 2024 Conservatives stuck with their previous choice, while a third instead voted for Reform UK
- Those who voted Reform UK are particularly likely to say they made their choice because of the performance of the national government
- Four in ten Labour and Lib Dem voters say wanting to stop another party from winning was one of the top reasons they voted the way they did
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Our new data suggests that just 46% of 2024 Labour voters who voted at the 2026 local elections stayed loyal to the party this time around, with roughly one in five (22%) instead backing the Greens and around one in six (16%) voting for the Liberal Democrats. Smaller numbers switched to Reform UK (6%), the Conservatives (5%), or independents, local groups and minor parties (5%).
These figures are in line with analysis of the results data at ward level, which suggest that the Greens did better the more Labour fell back. Labour’s almost 4:1 ratio of voters lost to the Greens versus defecting to Reform UK is significantly greater than we see in our nationwide polling, but this will be driven in part by the high concentration of urban, Green-friendly areas up for election on 7 May.
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Original article at https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/54811-labours-voter-coalition-broke-more-to-left-than-right-at-2026-local-elections
Labour keeps knocking. The planet keeps burning. Don’t open the door.
Roger Hallam comments on the Greens indecision on how to oppose Andy Burnham at the Makerfield by-election.
You may have noticed that I am supportive of the Green Party and Zack Polanski. Despite seriously considering joining the Green Party, I have not yet done it and I might actually be a liability. I have also seriously considered joining Your Party but can’t see that happening now unfortunately. I probably won’t ever join a political party and expect that some of you can understand why.
The question is to what extent should the Green Party oppose Andy Burnham in the Makerfield by-election. I agree with Roger Hallam that the Labour Party is finished and should be opposed without holding back. The concern is that Greens actions could facilitate a Reform win. I raise three points:
Firstly, it is the Labour Party insisting that Andy Burnham fights and wins an election to participate in a leadership challenge. It is Labour Party rules and the Labour Party NEC can change those rules if it was so minded.
Secondly, so what if Burnham loses to Reform? it has been clear for years that Starmer & Co’s preferred successor is Wes Streeting. There is no certainty that Andy Burnham will defeat Streeting in a leadership contest and there are suggestions of dirty tricks already. A Reform win is instead of a win for Reform in a red rosette. So what if Burnham doesn’t get to compete?
Third, Reform’s position is precarious as is Labour’s, things can change drastically during an election campaign and Farage is already on the missing list. A strong campaign by the Green’s would show that they’re taking the fight to Reform and Labour, that they’re serious about gaining power.
dizzy
UK ‘built for climate that no longer exists’ and needs urgent changes to survive global heating, report warns
Landmark report calls for widespread air conditioning and says UK temperatures forecast to exceed 40C by 2050
British homes will need air conditioning to survive predicted levels of global heating, the government’s climate advisers have warned in a report, as measures such as drawing curtains, opening windows and growing trees for shade are not likely to be enough.
Air conditioning should be installed in all care homes and hospitals within the next 10 years, and in all schools within 25 years, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which published a major report on adapting to the impacts of global heating on Wednesday.
The government should also set a maximum temperature for working, indoors and outdoors, the advisers said. The UK should prepare for 2C of global heating by 2050, as attempts to limit temperatures to 1.5C above preindustrial levels under the Paris agreement appeared likely to fail.
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Julia King, the chair of the adaptation subcommittee of the CCC, said of the many climate threats laid out in the report, extreme heat posed the most immediate risk to life. “Extreme heat is certainly the most deadly of the climate impacts on the UK, so we need to see cooling rolled out at scale,” she said.
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Reform UK Councillors Told to Speak Only to GB News’ as Party Shuns Local Press
The editor of an independent local news outlet, which has been shunned by Reform UK, says Nigel Farage’s party is borrowing ‘straight [from] the Trump playbook’ in its approach to the press.
Oliver Rouane-Williams, the founder and editor of Ipswich.co.uk, an independent local title in Suffolk, is warning of US-style attacks on independent journalism by Nigel Farage’s party, after the Reform chairman in his patch reportedly ordered Ipswich candidates not to engage with reporters – directing them towards GB News instead.
Media freedom groups are worried it is part of a trend. Last week, Clacton MP Farage published the name and photograph of a photographer who had been undertaking his duties in a public place near the Reform leader’s home, in a move condemned by his employers at The Guardian.
Rouane-Williams told Byline Times that his publication has no working relationship with Reform UK locally following an edict from the Ipswich party chairman.
The local news chief said his outlet had attempted to engage Reform candidates ahead of the elections through a standard ‘meet the candidate’ format, putting the same five questions to every candidate of every party, but received nothing back from Reform.
The publication subsequently faced pushback from Reform voters who felt the coverage was biased – forcing Rouane-Williams to explain the absence of Reform voices was not down to editorial bias but to the party’s refusal to engage.
The Ipswich.co.uk founder says he then learnt that Shayne Pooley, the chairman of Reform in Ipswich, had instructed all of the party’s candidates in the town not to engage with the media, and had specifically told them not to answer questions from Ipswich.co.uk.
