Brighton & Hove Green Party (with eight Green councillors locally) are today demanding that Labour MPs Chris Ward and Peter Kyle rebel against the horrific cuts to welfare and disability benefits planned by the Labour Government – or explain to Brighton & Hove residents why they are ignoring pleas from those who stand to be most affected. This demand is supported by a call for an Emergency Meeting of Brighton & Hove City Council, to ensure that concerns over the plans are able to be heard.
After fifteen years of austerity under Conservative and now Labour rule, it is clear that people in Brighton & Hove are being pushed to the brink. In choosing to make further attacks on disabled people and the welfare system, Labour are making a political choice that will have brutal, potentially fatal consequences. Across the country, Labour councillors in Wakefield, Dudley and beyond are resigning in protest, and more than 42 Labour MPs[1] have now said they will rebel against the governments plans, following a letter by Sian Berry, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion to all Labour MPs calling on them to do so.[2]
Brighton & Hove Greens today bring this demand directly to Brighton & Hove Labour MPs Chris Ward (Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven) and Peter Kyle (Hove & Portslade). We ask whether they, as senior members of the Labour government, will show that they are willing to stand up for Brighton & Hove residents and vote against the cuts, or whether they are prepared to condemn the more than 150,000 residents that they represent to the consequences of these plans.
Greens also call on the Labour-run Brighton & Hove City Council to recognise the urgency of the situation, and agree to an emergency meeting to address concerns. Currently, no standard Full Council meetings are scheduled until July. We call for an immediate Special Meeting to ensure opposition councillors and residents have the opportunity to speak, and hear from the Labour administration on the impact that the Government’s plans are expected to have in Brighton & Hove.
Brighton & Hove Green Party
Councillor Steve Davis (Green, Preston Park)
Councillor Chloe Goldsmith (Green, Regency)
Councillor Raphael Hill (Green, Round Hill)
Councillor Ellen McLeay (Green, West Hill & North Laine)
Councillor Kerry Pickett (Green, Preston Park)
Councillor Ollie Sykes (Green, Brunswick & Adelaide)
Councillor Pete West (Green, Round Hill)
Councillor Sue Shanks (Green, West Hill & North Laine)
[1] theguardian.com/politics/2025/may/08/disability-benefit-cuts-impossible-to-support-labour-mps-tell-starmer
[2]sianberry.org.uk/2025/03/14/letter-to-labour-mps-on-proposed-cuts-to-welfare-benefits/