This will be the topic of debate at one fringe event "Green to Red: How can Labour stop the Greens spreading?" at this year's Labour party conference here in Liverpool.

A green contact of mine sent me a link to the event saying: "It seems to indicate that Labour sees us as an emergent threat.

"Given the continued decline of the Lib Dems in Liverpool and other places, I think Labour are looking at us as a real challenge in the northern cities in particular (there are Green councillors in Leeds, Huddersfield, Bradford and Sheffield, with Greens in 2nd place to Labour in a number of wards in other cities like Manchester)."

Liverpool Wavertree MP Luciana Berger will be one of the speakers.

The event details state:

This seminar will examine the growth in the green vote in certain areas, most notably in local government, that culminated in the election of the United Kingdom's first Green party member of Parliament at last year's general election. Talking to those with firsthand knowledge of their rise, we ask what circumstances enable the green vote to take root in an area, and how best can Labour respond to this new threat.

It is worth pointing out that the Greens have two councillors out of 90 in Liverpool, and even in their depleted state the Lib-Dems have 21.

Labour have 60 seats, so it is going to take a long time before the Lib-Dems or the Greens threaten the Labour party's control of the town hall.