Greens hold Thanet council seat as Lib Dem vote share plummets

The Green Party held the ward of Thanet Villages in yesterday’s by-election, with 60 per cent of the vote share, local press have confirmed.

Their vote share increased by 36.8 per cent after the Liberal Democrats share fell by 15.7 points, securing just 6.3% of the votes.

The Conservative candidate came in second with 33.7 per cent of the vote share.

Ipsos MORI figures from earlier this week show the Greens outperforming the Liberal Democrats in general election voting intentions.

Their latest political monitoring survey showed the Liberal Democrats remaining at 9 per cent , while the Greens climbed 5 points to 11 per cent.

The Greens currently have three London Assembly members and hold 447 seats on 141 different councils. They also have two members of the House of Lords.

The rise in the Green appeal is likely related to an overall increase in public concern about environmental issues.

A study released earlier this week by centre-right think tank Onward shows that two thirds of voters (67%) now think the government is not being bold enough in tackling climate change.

However only 46% of those surveyed said they were “happy to pay higher prices for fuel and household items if it leads to less carbon being emitted into the atmosphere”,