Now at 115,000 members and in some polls level with Labour in terms of public support, CHRIS JARVIS looks at the factors behind the rapid rise of the Greens, internal and external
Sock it to them!
Think knitting is sedate and harmless? JULIA BARD begs to differ – knitting has a long history of radicalism and rebellion

MY GRANDMOTHER arrived in London from Riga in 1912 aged 24. Along with the samovar, the brass Friday night candlesticks and three young children, she brought her skills at sewing, embroidery, crochet and knitting. She taught my mother to knit, and my mother taught me.
When I was five, mum gave me short, plastic needles and a round ball of red wool. I learnt plain and purl, how to cast on and cast off, and how to pick up dropped stitches.
I loved the feel of the yarn, the rhythm of the movements, the sound of the needles, and the way you could talk and listen while your hands were being creative and productive.
Similar stories

Decades after Dale Spender’s groundbreaking work on how language embeds male dominance, the struggle to reshape words that accurately reflect women’s experiences remains both vital and unfinished, writes JULIA BARD

Six beautiful knitted Palestine solidarity scarves arrived at Morning Star HQ last week — with instructions on how to make your own