Lede

We vote governments out when they fail, we side-eye political rage, and we still look for something better than anger.

Hermit Off Script

That’s why I love Britain. It took us hundreds of years of arguments, riots, reforms, sermons, heresies, newspapers, and pub-level philosophy to drag ourselves towards a national habit of letting people speak, believe, doubt, worship, disagree, and still queue politely for the bus. Then we built a weird, workable vision out of mixed backgrounds and clashing opinions: if the party in charge messes up, it gets taxed at the ballot box, no matter what excuse it prints on the leaflet. So yes, the Tories got taxed first. Fourteen years in power from 2010 to 2024 is long enough to run out of scapegoats and start blaming the wallpaper. Voters looked at the chaos, the broken promises, the economic wobble, and the constant feeling of being managed by people who thought “accountability” was a brand of cologne, and they sent the invoice. Labour did not win because it was perfect. Labour won because it was not the Conservatives. That is not romance, it’s rebound. Now it’s Labour’s turn to stand in the draught of public judgement after the 2024 election. If it fumbles economic management and governance, it will get the same tax bill, just in a different colour. And in that moment, some will point at Reform like it’s a fire extinguisher, when it’s often closer to a petrol can: hatred, division, and that “strongman vibes” itch that other countries keep scratching until they bleed. Take a hint from the US election circus: rage is not a policy, it’s a marketing strategy. So when the Greens pop up with a by-election win, it feels like oxygen. Not perfect, not proven at running the whole kingdom, but at least the pitch is about fixing things rather than finding someone to blame. Reform sells fury. The Greens sell a future. Only one of those has any chance of building a country you can actually live in.

Does the Green Party have what it takes?

On the people question, the Greens are no longer a single-seat curiosity with a megaphone. After the 4 July 2024 general election they had 4 MPs, and the Gorton and Denton by-election (held 26 February 2026) added a fifth, with Hannah Spencer elected on 14,980 votes. That is real Westminster presence, and it is also their first Westminster by-election win.

But “having people” and “having a governing bench” are not the same thing. Five MPs is not a government-in-waiting, it is a sharper set of questions at PMQs and a slightly larger rota for media slots. Their deeper experience is local: Open Council Data lists 859 Green council seats in England and Wales (2025). That matters, because councils are where you learn the boring, brutal craft of delivery. It also matters because national government adds the Treasury, national security, diplomacy, and crisis management. The jump from potholes to bond markets is not a promotion, it is a different sport.

On political support, they have momentum, not dominance. Zack Polanski won the leadership in September 2025 with about 85 per cent of the vote among members, and by January 2026 YouGov had his net favourability at -7, which is miles less radioactive than Keir Starmer on -57. Caveat: nearly half the country still had no opinion on Polanski, which is another way of saying the room is not yet full.

Here is the real “can they govern?” snag: trust is uneven. YouGov found 54 per cent of Britons trust the Greens on the environment, but only 17 per cent trust them on defence, and majorities (55 – 56 per cent) say they do not trust them to manage the economy or to form an effective government. So the public like the mission, and still side-eye the steering wheel.

Even inside the party, power is a live argument. A YouGov survey of Green members found 54 per cent would enter coalition with Labour as a junior partner, while 43 per cent were opposed. That is not fatal, but it is a warning label: “May contain internal rows when near government.”

Hope in Progress, Not Power in Waiting

---

The Greens may not yet have the scale to run the kingdom. Five MPs is not a government-in-waiting, but momentum and local proof make the Greens worth exploring.

---

Punish power. Reject extremism. Flirt with hope. That is not chaos. That is a democracy adjusting itself.

What does not make sense

• Calling accountability “instability” when peaceful transfer of power is the point of elections.
• Treating protest politics as governance without testing administrative depth.
• Pretending a by-election equals a national mandate.
• Demanding lower taxes and higher spending at the same time.
• Acting shocked when a party judged on 14 years is held responsible for 14 years.

Sense check / The numbers

1. On 4 July 2024, Labour won 411 seats while the Conservatives fell to 121. Reform UK won 5 seats and the Green Party won 4. [House of Commons Library]
2. On 26 February 2026, the Green Party won the Gorton and Denton by-election with 41 per cent of the vote. [Guardian]
3. After the May 2025 county council elections, the Greens reported 859 council seats across England and Wales. [Green Party press release]
4. In a January 2026 YouGov favourability poll, Zack Polanski’s net rating was -7 compared with Keir Starmer’s -57. [YouGov]
5. A YouGov survey found 54 per cent of Green members would enter coalition with Labour, while 43 per cent were opposed. [YouGov]

The sketch

Scene 1: “The Eviction Notice”
Panel: A grand building labelled “Government” with a polite postman posting a letter.
Dialogue: “Fourteen years is quite enough.”
Dialogue: “Please vacate after polling day.”

Scene 2: “The Rage Stall”
Panel: A market stall labelled “Easy Answers” selling megaphones.
Dialogue: “Blame them!”
Dialogue: “Does it come with a budget?”
Dialogue: “Budget sold separately.”

Scene 3: “The Cautious Glance”
Panel: A voter stands between a red box, a blue box, and a green sapling growing from soil.
Dialogue: “Not perfect.”
Dialogue: “But growing.”

What to watch, not the show

• Electoral system mechanics that magnify seat swings.
• Whether anger-based politics converts into policy detail.
• Depth of bench strength beyond headline leaders.
• Economic credibility versus moral appeal.
• Coalition mathematics if no party dominates outright.

The Hermit take

Britain does not worship power. It rotates it.
Hope survives here because extremism rarely wins the room.

Keep or toss

Keep
Keep the instinct to remove failing governments and resist rage politics. Keep testing new alternatives carefully, not blindly.

Sources

• House of Commons Library – General Election 2024 results: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10009/
• The Guardian – Gorton and Denton by-election result (February 2026): https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/26/gorton-and-denton-byelection-result
• Green Party press release – County council election results 2025: https://greenparty.org.uk/2025/05/03/record-high-for-green-party-after-county-council-elections/
• YouGov – Political favourability ratings January 2026: https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/53907-political-favourability-ratings-january-2026
• YouGov – Green Party members on coalition and leadership: https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/53108-how-do-green-party-members-feel-about-the-party-its-leaders-and-seeking-power
• House of Commons Library – “2024 general election: Performance of Reform and the Greens”: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/2024-general-election-performance-of-reform-and-the-greens/
• Open Council Data – “All 859 Seats Held by Green Party (E&W) (2025)”: https://opencouncildata.co.uk/councillors.php?p=112&y=2025
• Green Party – “Record high for Green Party after County Council elections”: https://greenparty.org.uk/2025/05/03/record-high-for-green-party-after-county-council-elections/
• YouGov – “Political favourability ratings, January 2026”: https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/53907-political-favourability-ratings-january-2026
• YouGov – “How do Britons see the Greens, ahead of their 2025 party conference”: https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/53102-how-do-britons-see-the-greens-ahead-of-their-2025-party-conference
• YouGov – “How do Green Party members feel about the party, its leaders and seeking power”: https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/53108-how-do-green-party-members-feel-about-the-party-its-leaders-and-seeking-power
• The Guardian – Spencer’s victory speech an object lesson in grace while Reform’s man rages: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/27/hannah-spencer-speech-gorton-denton-byelection-sketch