Inside Hackney – and why it is the Green Party’s top London target
R.It’s raining relentlessly as a handful of campaigners, holding Green Party leaflets, gather under umbrellas on a main street in Hackney.
The weather has done little to deter the Greens as they prepare to knock on doors in the London ward where they believe they have the best chance of success in next month’s high-stakes local elections.
Joining them is the party’s Hackney mayoral candidate, Zoë Garbett; Here local organizers hope the Green wave sweeping across the country can help them capture the historic Labor council.
The east London borough, mostly home to Greens leader Zack Polanski, is the party’s biggest target in the capital as pollsters predict a “very bad night for Labor” in London.
London’s Labor mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, has warned his party faces “surprise” next month as a new poll shows Sir Keir Starmer’s party heading for its worst result in the capital in more than four decades.
Walking down a residential street amid door knocks, Garbett says he’s “pretty confident” about his chances in his third attempt to become mayor of Hackney.
He was defeated by Labour’s Caroline Woodley in the 2023 mayoral by-election, but a change in mood both nationally and locally suggests he could swing in the Greens’ favor this time.
“I’ve been knocking on the door in Dalston, where I’ve been district counsel for six or seven years,” he says.
“There are certainly people who we despise as Labor supporters, or who are on the fence, who are absolutely supporting us now.
“It really feels like we’re pushing on an open door.”
He says voters are taking the Greens “more seriously” on positions they had not previously been associated with, with issues such as Gaza, housing, disability support and immigration coming up again and again.
“There was a long period when you would knock on doors and people would think you just wanted to talk about bins and buses; obviously we really care about those things, but we also worry about so much more,” he says. Independent. “So I think the biggest change is feeling like people really know who we are and what we’re about.”
He adds: “There’s a wider global and national context to what’s going on with the Labor government, and people feel like it’s not bringing the change they promised, or that it’s a party that’s moved away from their values.”
While London is currently dominated by red borough councils, Labor faces potential extinction at May’s elections with the dual threat of the Greens on the left and Nigel Farage’s Reform on the right.
The Greens have now overtaken Labor in national polls, casting doubt on the continuation of Sir Keir’s leadership after Polanski declared his party could “win anywhere” following its landmark by-election victory in Gorton and Denton earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Garbett believes Polanski’s election as leader in September was a “real acceleration point”; data shows a more than 300 percent increase in the number of local members from January 2025 to 2026.
“I think people have been suffering for a long time and want an alternative and want to try something different. These are the people who are really feeling the pressure of the cost of living and rising inequality,” he says.
Chris Annous, a pollster at the think tank More in Common, said growing frustration and anger over the government’s record was driving many voters away from Labour.
“I can’t tell you how disappointed and disappointed people are with the Labor government,” he says.
“People are so frustrated, so desperate for change, that they feel like Labor doesn’t represent that in many parts of London. That means there’s a real opportunity for a pretty significant swing as far as voters are concerned.”
Green-leaning voters on the doorstep support these claims by voicing their disappointment with the current government; Residents are voicing concerns about housing, the cost of living and Labour’s approach to immigration.
“The ‘strangers island’ speech was a real turning point on the doorstep I found,” says Garbett, after speaking to one resident who said he was “disgusted” by Labour’s immigration policies, which put the country’s asylum rules among the harshest in Europe.
“This issue comes up a lot; the indefinite leave policy has caused a lot of concern.”
Labor has come under sharp criticism from left-leaning voters over its approach to immigration, with home secretary Shabana Mahmood putting forward a series of tough proposals as part of efforts to quell rising immigration figures.
Such measures include doubling the time required for immigrants to be given permission to remain in the UK indefinitely (from five to 10 years) and making it easier to deport those who do not have the right to remain in the country.
Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner echoed the concerns of some voters, describing the reforms as an “un-British” move that would amount to a “breach of trust” for those based in the country.
Optimism within the Green Party comes as pollsters warn May 7 could be a “very bad night” for Labor in London.
More in Common’s Announcement said the Green Party was more likely to declare victory in inner London areas such as Lambeth, Camden, Islington, Hackney, Newham, Lewisham and possibly parts of Greenwich.
“I think it could be a very bad night for Labor in London,” he said, adding that they would lose a majority or outright in several councils.
“[With Labour]“We are talking about complete dominance in parts of London, which I think will be largely resolved.”
