The Green Party Could Have More Members Than The Lib Dems By The Election

    And they already have more members than UKIP.

    Siraj Datoo
    by Siraj Datoo

    BuzzFeed News Reporter, UK

    The Greens now have more members than UKIP "within a week" as their remarkable surge in membership continues.

    If you include numbers from the wider Conservative party, including donors and activists (who do not necessarily pay membership fees) the Tories' figure comes to 224,000 members.

    This outcome relies on combining membership figures for the Green Party of England and Wales (35091) and its sister parties, the Scottish Greens (7970) and the Green Party in Northern Ireland (300).

    OurKingdom has compiled the latest membership figures from various parties, and yesterday predicted that "at the current rate of growth, the Greens will overtake UKIP within a week, and be ahead of the Lib Dems before polling day".

    But at least 2,000 members joined the Green party only yesterday, meaning it now has more members than UKIP. This comes at an ideal time for the Greens, and David Cameron, as they have both pushed for the party to be included in the television debates.

    The Green party released a letter during Prime Minister's Questions signed by leader Natalie Bennett, arguing that the party deserved inclusion in the debates because of its growing membership. It is believed the prime minister wants the Greens to be involved as part of a Conservative party strategy to "divide the left".

    The thinking behind this is that traditionally Labour voters may see the Greens as a more prominent party if they share a platform with the prime minister and so vote for them over Labour.

    In October, Bennett told BuzzFeed News she believed the party "can break British politics wide open in this election" and win more seats than the Lib Dems.

    PA Wire/Press Association Images Nick Ansell

    In 2014 membership of the Green party jumped by 100%. UKIP also announced new records in membership in June last year.

    But while membership of the Greens have continued to rise at a steady rate, UKIP's has somewhat slowed.

    The Conservative party has 149,800 members. A previous version of this article said the party has 224,000 members, but this figure includes activists who do not necessarily pay membership fees. The post has been clarified to make this distinction clear.