But this is nothing new. The Greens have long held a radical left-wing agenda, evident in their policies from defence through education to the economy and health. For me it is a sign of progress that the election at least made everyone more aware of the Green Party’s left-wing policies. When I worked there, we wanted to move away from being an environmental pressure group and into the realm of “grown-up politics”. How could the party expect to get elected if they were solely interested in green issues to the exclusion of all else? It would make MP surgeries a surreal experience. “I have an issue with my neighbour.” Awkward silence. "This neighbour... are they responsible at all for global climate change?”