Party's hopes high after Euro-election surge

Sarah Hall, political correspondent
Friday June 18, 2004
The Guardian

The air in Brighton's north lanes fills with the scent of incense and the sound of a didgeridoo player. Sun drenches the quaint maze of streets where shops jostle to sell "oxygen sessions" and Thai massage; herbal tinctures and lotions; vegan burgers, semi-precious gems, fair-trade goods and "recycled" clothes.
It is the sort of environmentally aware Utopia where a rainbow-clad gentleman can state with a straight face: "Of course I vote Green. I'm an Old Yogi, totally in touch with the planet and the animals. You wouldn't expect me to vote anything else."

It is possible to mock the Green party as the recipient of anti-politics and protest voters. But, as a hidden winner in last week's European elections, it is rapidly emerging as a credible force.

While all the attention has been on Ukip, an ICM poll for the Guardian this week suggests the Greens would po