Pulling the Levers of Change: Inside the Manchester Green Party’s Local Momentum

I spent a rainy Saturday in December with the Manchester Green Party in Wythenshawe, and what I found was a political movement with serious momentum behind it.

Manchester Green Party membership has grown from 500 to 3,000 in recent months. Nationally, over 100,000 people have joined since Zack Polanski became leader last September. In Woodhouse Park, a historically Labour stronghold, the Greens won 59.2% of the vote in 2024.

I spoke with long-time members, new converts from Labour, and local councillors to find out what is driving this momentum. The picture that emerged is one of disillusionment with Starmer’s government, the need for a left-wing alternative, and a party that has quietly become, as one member put it, “a far more serious political operation.”