Meet the man hoping to become the Green Party's second MP

Although the Greens lost their deposit in Bristol West at the last election, ex-RAF officer Darren Hall is hoping to win the seat and become the party's second MP.

Until very recently his optimism would have seemed ludicrous given the Green Party only managed to scrape together a miserable 3.8 per cent of the vote in 2010.

But with Lib-Dem support fading rapidly since the party entered the coalition, winning the constituency from them has become the Greens’ second-biggest priority – after holding on to Caroline Lucas’s Brighton Pavilion seat.

It’s a tough gig. We are going to have to work really hard. The other parties are going to be gunning for us every day between now and the election.

• Darren Hall

The constituency fits the demographic of areas considered receptive to Green messages - with a large student population, lots of young professionals and a slightly raffish ambience as well as pockets of deprivation.

It is a value-driven place. People here were incredibly angry about Iraq, and Blair’s decision to go to war despite the views of voters and that is still very visceral for them. They then voted for the Lib-Dems in the belief they were their kind of people, and now feel incredibly let down.

• Darren Hall

After electing an independent but green-minded mayor and being selected as Europe’s green capital for 2015 it's fair to say that Bristol also boasts a strong streak of environmentalism.

The Lib-Dems have lost eight of their 16 councillors in the past four years and there is a feeling that momentum is with the Greens, although Mr Hall is staying realistic.

It's a huge leap from local votes to national votes.

The sitting MP, Stephen Williams, who is also a junior minister, has built up a 10,000-plus majority and is widely praised as hard-working and popular. The credibility of the “green surge” could face its toughest test on the banks of the Avon.

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