He is famed for his red attire and relentless fuelling of consumerism.

But nearly a third of the public think Father Christmas is a Green Party voter.

The striking finding has emerged from a festive poll carried out by YouGov.

Santa Claus is reputed to live at the North Pole or in Lapland, where he and his elves prepare the enormous volume of presents required to fulfil his Christmas duties.

Nearly a third of those who thought Father Christmas would vote said he would back the Green Party, the YouGov poll found

He is not thought to be a British or EU citizen, meaning he is not eligible to take part in general elections.

But some 30 per cent of those who expressed a view in the poll were convinced he would support the Green Party.

That was well ahead of the 23 per cent who thought he was a Labour backer - perhaps surprisingly low given his noted resemblance to Jeremy Corbyn.

Just 20 per cent believe he would vote Tory, while 10 per cent think he is a Ukip fan.

Excluding don't knows and the 33 per cent who suggested Santa would abstain, 8 per cent had him down as a Liberal Democrat.

The strength of the link in the public mind between the Greens and Father Christmas comes despite the party's support usually languishing at around 3-4 per cent in opinion polls.

Overall people tended to think Santa would back the same party they did.

But strangely just 13 per cent of Lib Dem voters believed he would support their party.

YouGov's report mooted several reasons for Father Christmas's political allegiance.

'Santa as a Green voter certainly makes sense. The ice sheet that makes up the North Pole, where his home and workplace are both based, is rapidly shrinking which doubtless has him concerned about climate change,' it said.

'He also makes exclusive use of eco-friendly transportation.'

The poll also found that a large majority were convinced Santa would have backed Remain in the EU referendum.

Some 63 per cent said he would have wanted to maintain ties with Brussels.

'Presumably this is an acknowledgement of the importance of "freedom of movement" in enabling Santa to perform his Yuletide activities,' the report said.