London councillors elected as Labour politicians have defected to the Greens as support for Sir Keir Starmer’s party in the capital continues to slump.
Lewisham councillor Liam Shrivastava and Haringey councillor Mark Blake on Wednesday blamed what they described as the party’s shift to the right under the Prime Minister for their defections.
Mr Shrivastava said Labour had “slashed welfare benefits, ramped up deportations, refused to scrap the two-child benefit cap and aped the far-right with anti-immigrant rhetoric”.
He was first elected for Labour in New Cross Gate in 2022 and his defection brings the number of Green councillors in the borough to two.
Mr Blake was elected a Labour councillor in Haringey in 2014, but left the party in October 2023 to sit as an independent on the council.
“Labour under Keir Starmer has cut winter fuel payments for pensioners, rowed back on net zero commitments, slashed welfare benefits for sick and disabled people, ramped up deportations, refused to scrap the 2-child benefit cap and aped the far-right with anti-immigrant rhetoric,” Mr Shrivastava said.
“As a councillor in London’s first Borough of Sanctuary, I cannot in good conscience remain a credible representative of this Labour Party. I’ve joined a party that stands up for everyone in our society.
“Labour’s cynical and desperate strategy has allowed Reform to surge in the polls.”
Mr Blake added: “My decision to join the Green Party has not been made overnight. A key driver has been my growing belief that the country needs a progressive alternative willing to counter the racist narrative driving us towards a far-right government.
“For me and many others in this country that outcome is unthinkable. I think a majority of people in Haringey and Fortis Green share that opinion.
“The Green Party’s policies align with my values.”
It comes as polling suggested Labour was “shedding votes” in London to Reform UK, the Tories, Liberal Democrats and Greens.
A Savanta survey, commissioned by the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University of London, put Sir Keir’s party on 32% - an 11 percentage point drop since the general election landslide win last July.
The Conservatives were on 21%, while Nigel Farage’s Reform has surged to 15% - ahead of both the Liberal Democrats and the Greens who are both on 13%.
One in four Londoners who voted for the Labour government now say they would not do so, according to the poll.
It suggests Labour will face a tough set of local elections in the capital next May, after winning control of flagship local authorities Westminster, Wandsworth and Barnet from the Tories in the 2022 votes.
