A victorious Caroline Lucas has perfectly summed up how negative our politics is

Only Green MP says 'there is not a moment to lose'

Caroline Lucas says 'there is not a moment to lose... the urgency of a strong, clear Green voice in Parliament has never been greater' (PA)

The Green Party said it has taken a decisive step forward in this election as Caroline Lucas increased her majority in Brighton Pavilion and the party more than quadrupled its vote to over a million across the country.

Ms Lucas, who won 22,871 votes, or 42 per cent of the vote, comfortably beat her main opponent, Labour's Purna Sen, with 14,904, despite fears that an unpopular Green Council in Brighton & Hove could chip away at her support.

"In 2010, Brighton Pavilion showed that a different kind of politics is possible. That you can stand firm by your principles and be elected," Ms Lucas said after the vote announcement.

"And in re-electing me tonight Brighton has made history again. But there is not a moment to lose... the urgency of a strong, clear Green voice in Parliament has never been greater," she added.

The party also came second in four seats, including Bristol West, where Darren Hall received the biggest ever upswing in a General Election in England and Wales - taking the Green vote there up 23 per cent to 26.8 per cent.

Green leader Natalie Bennett, who came third in her Holborn & St Pancras constituency, said: "The Green surge has only just begun....The fight for a fairer, more democratic voting system begins today."