THE Greens are surging in the polls, rising to a record 13 per cent in voter preferences, it was revealed today.

The increase in support for the Green Party follows its election of a new leader, charismatic leftwinger Zack Polanski.

It indicates that the party is gaining backing from voters disillusioned with the abandonment of progressive politics by the Labour government.

The YouGov survey puts Reform UK in the lead on 27 per cent with Labour trailing on 20 per cent, the Conservatives on 17 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on 16 per cent, showing that England is entering a period of five-party politics, with six in Scotland and Wales.

The poll does not measure potential support for Your Party, the provisional name for the new party being created by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.

The launching of the party has been marked by considerable turbulence, but Ms Sultana and Mr Corbyn put on a public display of unity at a rally in Liverpool at the weekend, to considerable enthusiasm.

However, there is little doubt that the disputes have demoralised some potential supporters, and it is likely that there will have been a drift to the Greens under Mr Polanski’s leadership.  

He claims that the party has now got more than 100,000 members for the first time in its history.

The figures add to pressure on the government ahead of what is likely to be a controversial budget next month.

A separate Survation poll found that 76 per cent of Labour members would back the government increasing taxes to fund improvements in public services, which would require breaking one of Labour’s rash manifesto commitments.