A new study shows that Labour lost nearly four times as many voters to the Green Party in the local elections as they did to Reform.
YouGov’s study of the 2026 local elections shows that just 46% of 2024 Labour voters who went to the polls remained loyal to the party, with more backing the Greens (22%) than Reform UK (6%) two weeks ago
The Conservatives retained 55% of their 2024 voters, with 33% switching to… pic.twitter.com/hK6CleMQrj
— YouGov (@YouGov) May 21, 2026
YouGov’s new study of the 2026 local elections shows that only 46% of Labour voters from 2024 who went to the polls remained loyal to the party. More previous voters backed the Green Party (22%) than voted for Reform (6%).
In comparison, the Conservatives retained 55% of their vote, with 33% switching to Reform.
YouGov found that Reform voters were most likely to use their vote in protest of the national government. Forty-six per cent of Reform voters said that the UK government’s performance was one of the main factors in their vote.
Whereas 40% of Labour and Lib Dem voters said they wanted to stop another party from winning.
Around 60% of people who voted Green said they did so because the party best represented their values. Around half of Labour voters said the same.
Labour losing votes to the left
Clearly, Labour is losing more votes to the left than to the far-right.
Our data here is consistent with evidence from already-published analyses of the results.
Labour lost far more voters to parties on their left/in the centre than they did to the right on 7th May . Reform made their biggest gains from the Conservatives. https://t.co/DvVDcUiCrO
— Patrick English (@PME_Politics) May 21, 2026
Moreover, this is after Labour has abandoned practically all of its values in an attempt to appease far-right Reform voters. For a grand total of 6% of votes. Hilarious.
so here we have confirmation that Labour have abandoned every single one of their values and all the marginalised people they pledge to protect for a grand total of 6% of voters https://t.co/g9bmuuVek3
— Nat
FREE
(@loopzoooop) May 21, 2026
When people in Labour offices say things like ‘we’ve really got to win Reform voters back to Labour’, is there no-one with half a brain, a cynical pragmatist, there to say ‘you mean the almost invisible sliver on this graph? Yeah that probably can’t be our priority’ https://t.co/yhrwu8NPCU
— Daniel Gerke (@drgerke1) May 21, 2026
As social media users pointed out, we only really hear about Reform’s threat to Labour, not the Green threat.
Why? Obviously, Labour would rather demonise migrants, disabled people, and benefits claimants than stand up to the rich and powerful.
Labour lost nearly four times as many voters to the Greens as Reform.
Yet all you hear about is Reform’s threat to Labour.
Why? Because
a) the left aren’t treated as legitimate political actors
b) Labour’s masters prefer bashing migrants to challenging wealth and power https://t.co/TlEMr4DRZU
— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) May 21, 2026
It also seems that Labour lost more voters to the Lib Dems than it did to Reform.
YouGov’s study of the 2026 local elections shows that just 46% of 2024 Labour voters who went to the polls remained loyal to the party, with more backing the Greens (22%) than Reform UK (6%) two weeks ago
The Conservatives retained 55% of their 2024 voters, with 33% switching to… pic.twitter.com/hK6CleMQrj
— YouGov (@YouGov) May 21, 2026
Starmer has practically bet his party on trying to beat Reform. In the process, he has created the perfect opportunity for the Green Party and a more progressive version of British oolitics. Importantly, the local elections showed us that many people want that alternative – and Labour have paved the way for their own demise.
Featured image via Leon Neal / Getty Images
By HG
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