Pic: empty chairs or rather in foreground the empty desk for the city’s three Labour MP candidates at the Workers Question Time hustings.
Elaine Hills, the Green MP candidate for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven, noted on X/Twitter the absence of the all six (overall total) Tory and Labour city MP candidates at a key local election hustings for the city on Thursday 20 June.
Green Party candidate for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, Elaine Hills, said, “Greens will always find time to discuss issues that affect workers.”
Attendance at Workers Question Time for Brighton and Hove election candidates, organised by Brighton & Hove Trades Union Council, Unite and UNISON:
- Greens 3
- Lib Dems 1
- Independents 1
- Labour 0
- Tories 0
All three of the city’s Green Party MP candidates attended the hustings: Sianberry (Brighton Pavilion), Elaine Hills (Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven) and Sophie Broadbent (Hove & Portslade).
Brighton & Hove Trades Union Council using @BrightonHoveTUC tweeted, “We can confirm that the three Labour candidates were sent the same invitation to Workers Question Time as everyone else. Peter Kyle said he would not be in the constituency. Tom Gray and Chris Ward never responded at all.”
Green Party candidate for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, Elaine Hills, said, “Greens will always find time to discuss issues that affect workers. This non-attendance clearly shows that Greens care a lot more about working people.”
Green Party candidate for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, Elaine Hills, said, “Greens will always find time to discuss issues that affect workers. This non-attendance clearly shows that Greens care a lot more about working people than Labour and the Tories.
“It’s sad to see that Labour who are directly funded by two unions that organised the event, Unite and UNISON, failing to honour local working people and unions with the courtesy of an in-person opportunity to question their MP candidates. The Greens in contrast show real, practical, policy interest in workers’ rights, pay and conditions.
“It gave Greens an opportunity to talk about our manifesto promises for workers: to repeal anti-trade union legislation and make it a legal obligation for all employers to recognise trade unions and give all workers a right to strike.”
You can read other pertinent comments on the event from influencers and candidates in the absence of the two parties from Brighton Hove Greens using the @bhgreens handle on X/Twitter which has retweeted posts about the issue.
Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza
A large part of the discussion involved the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza and the Greens made very clear their call for the following:
- A secure release of hostages acknowledging suffering on both sides
- An end to occupation of Palestinian land (Gaza and West Bank)
- Upholding self-determination and international law
- A bilateral ceasefire
- An end to arms sales to Israel.
You can read the relevant national Green Party manifesto pledges to the conflict at https://greenparty.org.uk/about/our-manifesto/a-fairer-greener-world/.
The full manifesto is published online at https://greenparty.org.uk/about/our-manifesto/ and there are downloadable options including an easy read accessible version.
Notes
Visit the #VoteGreen24 X/Twitter handle to learn the latest on the national Green manifesto promises and perspectives.