The most remarkable thing about my third place in the London mayoral election is that I haven't seen a single surprised comment about Greens doing well during a double-dip recession.

Coverage of environmental issues has slid off the media agenda, as austerity, recession and jobs have taken over the front pages. Yet the Green Party more than held its own with a focus on pay equality, lower fares, paid for with a pay-as-you-drive scheme, lower rents delivered with co-operatives and private rented sector reform, and healthier streets thanks to less traffic and cleaner cars.

The Green Party has connected saving the planet with social justice and fairness. These are the causes that I find inspiring and I was happy to discover that many Londoners agree with me.

The Green Party has built a reputation within the London Assembly as a party which punches above its weight. In the past 12 years we have seen both the UK Independence Party and the British National Party take advantage of the London-wide PR list vote to gain a toehold in the Assembly, but neither has won a subsequent election. Meanwhile, I have been Deputy Mayor and a prominent member of the now defunct Metropolitan Police Authority, while my colleague Darren Johnson has chaired the Environment Committee with huge skill and effectiveness. Together we have shown that Greens' concern about climate change links strongly to social wellbeing, to crime and policing and the solution to the inequality that increases daily. We are also the party who initiated the Civil Partnership register and the unit supporting the London Living Wage.

So we Greens are not that single-issue party that commentators used to dismiss so easily. I also enjoyed four glorious years when Ken Livingstone needed our votes to pass his budget allowing us to push forward with increased spending on cycling, on safer roads and cutting Londoners' energy bills. Success also came because we were smart enough to negotiate a good deal for Londoners, while retaining our independence and our ability to criticise Ken when he was making a mistake.

My third place came as a big blow to the Liberal Democrats within the coalition. After promising to scrap tuition fees and oppose austerity, the fact that they have done the opposite has shattered many Londoners' trust in their party.

By contrast, Caroline Lucas's recent decision to step down as leader of the Green Party to create a space and platform for someone new, shows integrity and principle. Caroline, myself and other elected Greens know that we can only succeed when there are hundreds of Greens elected as council leaders and MPs. We are merely the pioneers whose job it is to establish the Greens as a credible presence.

What I find so exciting about the current situation is that the Greens have a real opportunity to attract disaffected voters, especially Lib Dems, and to convince them that we have the best ideas on civil liberties, the environment and creating healthy local economies, those issues which make for a better quality of life for us all.

(Jenny Jones is a Green Party member of the London Assembly.)

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