2 July 2024: The Green Party of Brighton & Hove warmly welcomes and thanks the many Labour voters and activists across the city who are joining us in voting or endorsing one or more of our three Green MP candidates: Sian Berry in Brighton Pavilion, Elaine Hills in Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven and Sophie Broadbent in Hove & Portslade.

Writer and influencer Owen Jones and former Labour Party member: “Vote for Elaine Hills in Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven.”

Other endorsements from former Labour supporters from within the city and across the UK for Elaine Hills include:

Pic: writer and former Labour Party member Owen Jones endorses Elaine Hills as Green MP candidate for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven

Rupert Wilkinson, Brighton & Hove Labour Party organiser: “The Labour Party is set to win a majority nationally, but without progressive voices in Parliament there will be no one to hold them to account. We need Green representatives in Brighton, Bristol and other parts of the country that can offer Real Hope and Real Change to ordinary working people.”

David in Kemptown: “I’m now voting Green…. On a wider picture Labour are reneging on almost every manifesto pledge ie: climate change reversal, taxation  of the rich, becoming pro car, keeping the two child benefit cap. They have a populist obsession with militarism and the arms race, an over-nationalistic use of the Union Jack [flag], a refusal to commit to safe & legal routes being the most effective economical and humane way to stop the boats. .”

John in Queens Park: “I voted for Lloyd Russell Moyle in the last election. To vote for [new Labour candidate] Chris Ward would be to endorse the obviously underhanded removal of an established local MP…”

Mike Davies, ex-Campaign Coordinator for Hanover & Elmgrove branch of the Labour Party, Brighton Pavilion Constituency Labour Party, said: “I have voted Green this time…”

Thelma Walker, former Labour MP, Colne Valley: “So we will only get the change this country needs if there’s political pressure, and that can only come from the Greens. So please vote Green so we can help the new Labour government move in a better direction.”

Thelma Walker, former Labour MP for Colne Valley, West Yorkshire, 2017-2019, said, “I was a proud Labour Party member for almost fourty years but recently that has changed, let me explain why.

“Labour have changed to try to win power but they’ve gone much too far: back-pedalling on their climate commitments, opening the door wider for NHS privatisation and continuing the Conservative’s cuts to education.

“And it’s for these reasons that I’m no longer a Labour Party member, and why I believe we must do what we can to stop the new Labour government going further in the wrong direction.  Our children and our grandchildren depend on it.”

“I’ve been in Parliament and I can tell you how it works: no matter how big Labour’s supermajority is, they won’t take the bold action required unless they’re pressured to. Labour MPs are whipped to follow the party line and cabinet ministers are bound by a code of conduct that means they cannot speak out.  

“So we will only get the change this country needs if there’s political pressure, and that can only come from the Greens. So please vote Green so we can help the new Labour government move in a better direction.”

“PS – in many areas voting Green is a win-win, you get a Labour government and a Green MP.”

The post Former Labour supporters in city back one or more of our Green MP candidates appeared first on Brighton & Hove Green Party.

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.

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