Leading article: Green shoots

The report we carry in today's paper – that Brighton is likely to become the first constituency in Britain to elect an MP from the Green Party – is welcome news. Ours is practically the only sizeable country in Europe without a Green representative in the legislature. That can't be right. Greens have sat in the French parliament since 1997 and have supplied Germany with a foreign minister, in the shape of Joschka Fischer.

We seem far away from that eventuality in this country. It will be interesting to see, presuming Brighton does strike a blow for greenery in the next election, to what degree the precedent catches on. The resort favoured by "Prinny", as the Prince Regent and future George IV was known, has always cherished a reputation for leading fashion. We need to find out if that applies to political trends, as well as fashions of a more conventional variety. Whether Brighton's example leaves other constituencies feeling green with envy, in other words, remains to be seen.