Brits trust Greens as much as Labour to reduce poverty, Big Issue research shows

Brits now believe the Green Party has the same ability to reduce poverty as the Labour Party, a new YouGov poll commissioned by Big Issue has revealed.

Zack Polanski’s party has been making inroads into the popularity of the Labour government and recently won the by-election in Gorton and Denton.

Ahead of voters heading to the polls for the local elections, a YouGov poll of 2,000 adults found the party now tied with Labour with 15% of Brits believing they are the best party to reduce levels of UK poverty.

The poll suggested Labour’s grip on the English capital is slipping. Just under a quarter of London voters said the Greens were best-placed to address poverty compared to just 11% for Labour.

But that’s not to say there is much confidence in politicians to address poverty. 

A far larger proportion of Brits (42%) either said they “don’t know” who is best placed (23%) or that “no party” is up to the task (19%). 

Meanwhile, only 37% of people who voted for Labour at the 2024 General Election currently back them as the best party for reducing poverty.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “Action matters and our efforts to turn the tide on poverty after years of rising hardship are making a real difference – household incomes have risen 5% in real terms, around 100,000 fewer children are in deep material poverty and food bank usage has fallen.

“Our landmark child poverty strategy will lift 550,000 children out of poverty in the final year of this parliament, and we will hold ourselves to account on our progress through robust monitoring and annual poverty statistics, ensuring that the progress we make is transparent for all.”

The YouGov polling also underlined predictions that Welsh Labour faces a fight in the Senedd elections. Just 14% of Welsh respondents picked Labour as the best party on poverty, with 13% now picking Reform.

There is widespread agreement that the government must take responsibility for ensuring working households don’t live in poverty. 

Over three-quarters (78%) of the British public said the government bears some responsibility for alleviating the poverty of households where at least one adult is in work. 

Read more:

• Majority of Brits disapprove of Labour’s approach to tackling poverty, Big Issue polling finds
• Nearly half of Brits would struggle to pay for basic necessities in a month of losing income unexpectedly, new Big Issue YouGov poll reveals
• Big Issue YouGov GB poll finds more than two-thirds (68%) of Reform supporters want the government to do more to tackle poverty

Brits are hugely divided on which party they trust to reduce unemployment. The Conservatives lead on 15% overall, slightly ahead of Reform (14%) and Labour (12%). 

But four in ten Brits think no party has the answer.

YouGov’s polling was commissioned by the Big Issue as its founder Lord John Bird took a group of its vendors and campaigners to Downing Street to hand-in a petition. Signed by 13,269 people, it called for Westminster to have legally binding poverty reduction targets. 

Lord Bird, the founder of the Big Issue and a crossbench peer, said: “With a new King’s Speech on the horizon, now is the time for the government to hear our demands and introduce legislation to create mandatory poverty reduction targets.

“We cannot accept goodwill in place of real change – we must demand sustained, legislative action. Let us not look back and regret another missed opportunity. The time has come to stop simply managing poverty and to begin ending it.” 

You can read the full report on how Big Issue proposes establishing poverty reduction targets here.

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