General Election 2015: Over one in five of university staff plan to vote Green, says survey

Natalie Bennett’s party appears to have won heavy support from the Liberal Democrats, whose backing has collapsed on campuses

22 per cent of university staff support the Greens (Getty)

More than one in five of university staff are planning to vote for the Green Party this week, a survey by Times Higher Education has found.

Natalie Bennett’s party appears to have won heavy support from the Liberal Democrats, whose backing has collapsed on campuses.

Labour was favoured by 46 per cent, followed by the Greens (22 per cent), Conservatives (11 per cent), Liberal Democrats (9 per cent) and SNP (6 per cent). Only four of the 1,019 respondents backed Ukip.

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The strongest support for the Greens, who have targeted several university seats, was among academics and other staff working in creative arts departments, where they attracted 43 per cent backing.

Labour has claimed tuition fees could rise to £11,500 a year under Tory education plans.

The Conservatives have accused Labour of pumping out “scare stories” over the issue. However, both the Tories and Lib Dems have refused to rule out an increase.