Green Party insiders privately concede they can’t beat Burnham

The Green Party is divided over how hard to fight Labour in the Makerfield by-election, with some insiders privately conceding that they cannot win the seat.

Andy Burnham is seeking to return to Westminster and challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership – but the Greens are split over whether to run a “full campaign” against him over fears it could split the left-wing vote and waste resources.

The i Paper understands that some party insiders do not believe they can win Makerfield but want to run a proper campaign regardless – to take on Reform as they did in the Gorton and Denton by-election and to hold Burnham to account.

But others claim that the Greens should not stand in the way of the possibility of Burnham becoming prime minister as it offers a “unique opportunity” for electoral reform, since the Labour hopeful believes in proportional representation which could benefit the party in a general election.

It comes as a spat erupted between Reform UK and rivals Restore Britain – with Nigel Farage accusing Rupert Lowe’s party of boosting Burnham by fielding a candidate and splitting the vote.

There has been speculation that the Greens could decide to stand aside in Makerfield but the party is expected to announce a new candidate on Tuesday.

Its previous flagbearer Chris Kennedy withdrew last week and apologised for sharing social media posts describing an attack on Jewish charity ambulances as a “false flag”.

Sources close to leader Zac Polanski told The i Paper that it is important for the Greens to contest every seat, even if it faces an uphill battle.

They emphasised that the Greens are not a “pressure group” to be stood down when needed by Labour. The Green leadership is also unsure if Burnham can be trusted to deliver on proportional representation if he does become PM.

The insurgent party overcame a 13,000 Labour majority at the Gorton and Denton by-election, after activists swarmed the constituency with leaflets and posters and launched a formidable door-to-door campaign. Some within the party want to go all-out to win because that by-election shows it can “replace Labour”.

But others think it would be better not to “throw the kitchen sink” at the Makerfield campaign in the same way – so long as Burnham commits to the kind of electoral reform that should benefit smaller parties.

An open letter signed by Green Party councillors, activists and backers states that if Burnham agrees to put proportional representation in the Labour manifesto “then on this unique occasion we don’t think the Greens should run a full campaign against him”.

‘Let’s be realistic’

Jonathan Bartley, former Green co-leader who signed the letter, played down the party’s chances of winning in Makerfield. The Lambeth councillor pointed to a Survation poll showing Labour on 43 per cent in Makerfield, Reform on 40 per cent, and the Greens on 3 per cent.

“Given the constituency polling, it’s been framed as a Labour versus Reform battle, and it’s incredibly hard to change that,” Bartley told The i Paper. “We’re starting from much further back than in Gorton and Denton. So we should be realistic. There is little point in a full campaign.”

Urging Burnham to make a clear commitment to electoral reform, Bartley said some Greens “don’t want to miss out on the chance to work constructively with a new prime minister to bring about proportional representation”.

Rupert Read, a former Green councillor and climate author who also signed the letter, said party resources would be better spent on a mayoral contest in Greater Manchester if Burnham wins.

“By all means stand a candidate [in Makerfield],” Read told The i Paper. “But let’s be realistic – the Green Party has very little chance of winning. So let’s not throw the kitchen sink at it.”

‘If Burnham can’t win a fair campaign, he doesn’t deserve to be PM’

But senior Green figures are adamant that the party fights as hard as possible against Labour in the next few weeks, amid buoyant national polling and significant local election gains earlier this month.

Former Green leader Natalie Bennett told The i Paper she wanted a clear challenge to Burnham. “We offer the choice of positive change, which can attract voters who have given up on the legacy parties and are determined to vote against them.”

Baroness Jenny Jones, a Green peer, suggested that she wants to fight to win. “We most definitely should not stand down!” Jones posted on X. “We used to do that and the environmental agenda never benefitted.”

Richard Bradley, former Green chair in Sunderland, also urged the party to go all-out. “We are here to replace Labour,” he told The i Paper. “And if Andy Burnham can’t win a fair campaign by all parties in Makerfield then he doesn’t deserve to be PM.”

Neal Lawson, executive director at Compass – a campaign group promoting cross-party co-operation between Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens – said he understood the reluctance of some Greens to give way.

“Labour had behaved badly in the past, asking Greens to step aside and never giving them anything in return, so I recognise the Green Party’s frustration,” said Lawson.

But Lawson, a leading advocate of proportional representational, thinks that if Burnham becomes PM he will put electoral reform on the next Labour manifesto.

“I would rather the Greens didn’t stand or fielded only a paper candidate where they don’t devote huge resources to it. For that matter, I would urge the Lib Dems to consider the same.”

Burnham has previously called for proportional representation to be used at UK general elections. He told BBC Radio Manchester last week that “there needs to be reform to the electoral system”.

Reform embroiled in row with rival right-wing Restore party

The Greens by-election row comes as Farage criticised Elon Musk for his support for Restore Britain, warning that the tech billionaire will “split the right” in the Makerfield contest.

Farage claimed Restore was “one man with a social media account”, referring to Lowe, the Restore leader. Lowe fired back at “desperately vicious Reform attacks”.

It comes as Robert Kenyon, Reform’s Makerfield candidate, faced criticism over his old social media posts including one where he agreed with a tweet sent to TV presenter Carol Vorderman by a third party which contained graphic sexual language.

Reform UK MP Danny Kruger said the posts were “inappropriate” but sought to defend the candidate. Kruger told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Kenyon “was not a politician at the time – he was an ordinary man from an ordinary place”.

المصدر: iNews