'We're waiting to sweep up their votes': Three days inside the Green Party conference

When I sat down with Mothin Ali early on Sunday, he was in an energetic mood. It was the third and final day of what must have been an arduous Green Party conference for its co-deputy leader, who was dressed in his usual suit and flat cap. "It's been a fantastic year," Ali beamed. "We had 400 councillors elected in May, 1,300 councillors in all, a fifth MP in parliament and our membership has quadrupled. The Greens surged in the polls last year after Polanski was elected leader. They gained further momentum and credibility with a by-election victory in Gorton and Denton in February and then took more votes from Labour in the May local elections than Reform did.