The head of the Greens is the most popular party leader in the UK, a poll has suggested.
Zack Polanski, who believes small boat illegal migrants should be allowed to live and work in the UK, topped a survey of approval ratings of major political figures.
No party leader had a net positive rating, but Mr Polanski had the best approval at net minus one. He was closely followed by Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, on net minus four, according to a research by Opinium.
Kemi Badenoch of the Conservatives and Nigel Farage of Reform UK were on net -10 and net -12 respectively, while Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, remained by far the most unpopular party head with net -43.
The Greens outperformed Labour and the Conservatives across most metrics in the survey, but voters doubted whether they were ready for Government.
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Last week, Sir Keir labelled the Green Party “nuts” and “dangerous”.
Mr Polanski, who previously claimed women could increase their breast sizes through hypnotherapy, has seen his party become more popular since he took over as leader in September, overtaking Labour in several polls.
But overall, the survey showed that Reform maintained its lead at 31 per cent, with Labour and the Tories lagging behind on 20 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.
The Green Party performed particularly well with the public in net figures on “knowing what it stands for” (+20), “having a clear sense of purpose” (+13) and being “united” (+12).
However, the party struggled on metrics such as whether voters thought it was “ready for Government” (-31), good at “representing what most people think” (-19) or could be “trusted to take big decisions” (-17).
The research found that Labour continued to struggle to connect with voters.
The party of government performed poorly on measures such as “being in touch with ordinary people” (net -37) and representing “what most people think” (net -41).
James Crouch, head of policy and public affairs at Opinium, said: “Zack Polanski looks set to become a painful thorn in Keir Starmer’s side in 2026 unless the Prime Minister can set a clearer direction of travel for his Government.
“Until then, Labour voters will continue to be drawn to a Green Party they feel offers a stronger sense of purpose and conviction than their own.
“Starmer’s only breathing space is that few expect the Greens to be ready to take the reins of power any time soon.”
Elsewhere in the data, public opinion continued to move towards closer engagement with Europe.
More than half (56 per cent) of all respondents would have liked the UK either to rejoin the European Union (EU) or have a closer relationship with the EU.
