UK Labour membership drops sharply as Greater Manchester gets new mayor
UK Labour Party's membership fell to under 265,000 last year, while Bev Craig has succeeded Andy Burnham as Greater Manchester mayor. Meanwhile, the Green Party faces a deepening rift between its moderate and radical wings.
Financial accounts published by Britain's Labour Party show its membership fell to 264,754 in 2025, a steep decline from more than half a million members the party counted just a decade ago. The figures point to a continuing erosion of the party's grassroots base.
In Greater Manchester, a mayoral transition has taken place. Andy Burnham stepped down from the mayoralty to take up a role in Westminster, triggering a special election in the region. Voters chose Labour's Bev Craig to succeed him, though the race was close enough that counting went to a second round before a winner was declared.
Tensions within the Greens
Separately, the Green Party is grappling with an intensifying internal battle between its moderate and more radical factions. Following a series of gaffes linked to a party figure named Polanski, a left-wing pressure group within the party has stepped up efforts to secure more radical candidates ahead of the next general election.
Taken together, the falling Labour membership numbers and the internal Green Party dispute suggest Britain's left-of-centre parties are currently navigating a period of change and internal repositioning ahead of future electoral contests.
