For years the Green Par ty was regarded as a one-issue band of environmental activists. Yet, following the local election results in Brighton and Hove, the well-organised and motivated group stands on the brink of power. TIM RIDGWAY asks if the Greens have what it takes to seize the reins and make a real difference to the city.

Every so often there is a moment which makes the political nation sit up and take notice.

While not as headlineg rabbing as the national referendum on the Alternative Vote, the Greens’ emergence as the largest party in Brighton and Hove could ultimately make or break an entire political party.

This is their chance to show people what it stands for and what it has to offer the thousands of people who voted for them.

Will it mean big business will be scared away, taking hundreds of jobs with them? Will it mean the city resists the millions of pounds of cuts that central Government has imposed upon it?

Will it mean meat is off the menu at council offices?

Whatever people want to think, Friday’s council election in Brighton and Hove was historic.

The Greens emerged with 23 of the 54 seats – a transformation from junior Opposition group to the largest party on the council.

Meanwhile its two rivals, the Tories and Labour, have 18 and 13 seats respectively.

The Greens’ success was not reliant on the support of students or outspoken activists, although it certainly did help.

Gains in Goldsmid, Withdean and Central Hove were made because families and young professionals decided they wanted a change.

Yes, there was outside help from party members from across the country, but is this any different from Labour receiving funds from trade unions or the Conservatives from big business?

Every party has to start somewhere. For instance, the Labour party was only formed in 1900, when it gained its first MP.

24 years later its leader Ramsay MacDonald was asked to form a Government by the King.

For the Greens, most will point to last year’s election of Caroline Lucas as the defining moment which launched the party onto a national stage.

But Dr Lucas’s position as an MP, however much work she puts in, is limited as she has no power.

In the corridors of Westminster she is but a party of one and can be outvoted by relatively unknown g roups such as the Democratic Unionist Party.

Take control

Not so in Brighton and Hove where the party is likely to take control and form a minority administration.

Incredible prog ress has been made since 1996, when it gained its first ever seat on the council.

At every election since, thanks to the hard-working nature of its councillors and its portrayal as a party with ideas that does things differently, with no party whip and no party leader, numbers have almost doubled. It was this foundation which made the election of Dr Lucas possible last year.

But what happens in Brighton and Hove in the next four years will be the ultimate litmus test.

Experienced councillors know it is always easier nestled on the opposition benches.

Now is the time the Greens’ policies will have to be judged.

Now is the time its g roup of journalists, university lecturers, community campaigners and charity workers will have to put their heads above the parapet and be accountable for their ideas.

How successful will 20mph speed limits be? Will there be enough community involvement to create neighbourhood councils?

Is there land available to create extra dedicated traveller sites?

Now is also the time for big thinkers to solve issues such as the housing shortage, the need for g reater investment and transport problems.

But will the Greens be savvy enough to court big business while staying true to their antiglobalisation roots?

What will happen about major redevelopment projects such as the Royal Sussex County Hospital and Brighton Marina?

How will it promote public transport while solving the perennial parking problems?

Those currently at the top know these are major issues that must be solved.

But if the rest of its councillors, many of whom have no experience of political service, do not want to play ball, then the Greens’ unique structure may put pay to this.

This is not forgetting the biggest issue of the £45 million of Government-imposed cuts which must be found in the next three years.

The party has publicly denounced them. But elected councillors must set a legal budget in line with what money is trickled down from Whitehall.

Will the promise to reduce the number of redundancies lead to a massive hike in council tax?

This will all have to be done under a cloud, as the Greens very publicly opposed the appoint-ment of the council’s four “super-directors”. And what impact will the new opposition have on the proposed minority administration?

The Tories, who for so long have been limping along in a similar position of not having enough councillors to vote through their plans, have been kicked into opposition.

Labour also faces some tough decisions as, while it gained from the Tories, it lost out to the Greens in some of its heartland.

A coalition seems unlikely as it looks to fight its way out of the corner it has been backed into.

Whatever the outcome, those with power should be reminded this is not the time for party politics. Whatever the feelings from the party leadership, residents will not forgive the Greens, or any other party, if they use this opportunity to push their national agenda. How it pans out will certainly be interesting. But interesting is not what either the city or the Greens need.