Brighton remains the only thing close to a Green Party fortress, so it's worth noting a new poll showing that the party is set to be toppled at the next local election. A ComRes/BBC survey shows that support for the Greens has fallen by 12 points to 21%, leaving them in third place behind Labour on 38% (up six) and the Tories on 25% (down four).

The party has already suffered a setback this year with the loss of one of its seats to Labour after an 11.7% swing to Miliband's party. Such is the unpopularity of the council that Caroline Lucas herself has protested against it over pay cuts and other austerity measures. But while the party's former leader might hope to insulate herself from the backlash, it is a reminder that there is no guarantee she will keep her seat in 2015. Lucas currently has a majority of 1,252 (2.4%), with Labour, which held the constituency between 1997 and 2010, in second place.

Brighton Pavilion is one of Labour's 106 target seats (the 19th most marginal on the list) and with a hung parliament looking increasingly likely, the party has no intention of giving her a free run.