Greens have raised concerns over the party’s failure to begin candidate selection (Alamy)
3 min read11 November
Green figures have expressed alarm that the party is yet to begin selecting parliamentary candidates despite speculation about a snap general election.
“Local parties need to crack on with getting their candidates selected, so they’re not caught with their trousers down if Burnham calls a snap election, which could come any moment,” a senior source told PoliticsHome.
They added: “The Greens have put themselves into a great position to advance at the next election, and they can’t squander it by failing to be prepared.”
A different source said they felt selection was yet to begin because the party had been busy “firefighting elsewhere” during a challenging few months for the Greens.
“That’s understandable, but the clock is running. Leave it much longer, and we’ll be rushing candidates through, which is not the best approach, especially with a potential snap election looming,” they said.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out calling a general election in the next year, saying the public wants his Labour government to get on with delivering for the country.
However, speculation that the PM could look to capitalise on Labour’s position in the opinion polls and call an election in the coming months persists in Westminster.
While other parties have started selecting candidates, the Greens are yet to do so. PoliticsHome understands this is because the central party is finalising guidance that it will give to local branches to help them carry out selections.
The party says it is taking time to learn from previous elections, as well as design an approach that can handle a larger number of target seats than it is used to.
Another Green source told PoliticsHome that the party was facing “a capacity issue”, rather than a failure to appreciate the urgent need to select candidates, explaining that it was trying to deal with a large influx of new councillors after a strong performance at recent local elections. It is a case of being “a victim of your own success,” they said.
However, the same source added that there had been a “certain degree of naval gazing” within the Greens in recent weeks following the fallout from the contentious “Zionism is racism” motion passed at its October conference in Brighton.
A spokesperson for the Green Party told PoliticsHome: “The Green Party is ready whenever an election is called. Voters are keen to hear our messages on climate action and tackling the cost of living, and fed up of Labour’s backtracking and lack of action.”
The Greens surged in the polls when Zack Polanski took over as leader in September 2025 and went on to make significant electoral gains, such as victory over Labour in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
Since then, however, the party has fallen back in the polls, and Polanski’s personal ratings have dropped sharply, with Labour under Burnham winning back left-wing voters.
The “Zionism is racism” motion has triggered a divide within the party, as well as calls for reforms to how the party is structured and decides policy. The motion was backed by 1,002 votes – 0.4 per cent of total party members – to 813.
Jonathan Bartley, who co-led the Greens between 2016 and 2021, said last month that there is a “toxicity of the Green Party brand” and that allegations of antisemitism are clearly having an impact”. He spoke to PoliticsHome after Polanski lost to Labour in the by-election to represent the North London seat vacated by Keir Starmer.
