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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Picture from December 2023: St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School (central Brighton). Greens call for a change of course, as children are left without school places for September start of the school year.

20 June 2024: The Labour city council administration repeatedly assured parents that all children from St Bartholomew’s (Brighton) and St Peter’s Community Primary School (Hove) would be accommodated in nearby schools in the new academic year.

Greens have hit back at Labour’s decision to force two local primary schools to close after the Office of the Schools Adjudicator released a determination:

[1] Greens suceeded in overturning the Labour-run council’s decision to close St Bartholomew’s Primary School at the end of this school year in July.

The city council decision to close the school in December 2024 has been made after nine pupils – several of whom are understood to have Special Educational Needs – were unable to secure a school place for the upcoming academic year.

Since Labour first proposed the closures last November, Green councillors have consistently stood with parents, carers, and teachers of children at the school, criticising the speed with which the decisions were being made and raising concerns that not enough time was being given for children to transition to new schools.

At a meeting of the Children, Families and Schools Committee in January, Greens also called on Labour to produce a report exploring the feasibility of moving Bright Start Nursery to St Bartholomew’s.

[2] A solution which could have saved both institutions and reflects what is now national Labour Party policy.

[3] All Labour Councillors on the Committee voted against even considering this as an option.

Green councillors are calling on the Labour administration to use this as an opportunity to reconsider the closure of St Bartholomew’s Primary School and to bring a report to the next Full Council meeting, exploring how the school could be saved by relocating Bright Start Nursery to unused classroom space. They reversed the administration’s previous decisions to cut under two’s provision and reduce the overall number of places at Bright Start.

Cllr Sue Shanks, former Opposition Spokesperson on the Children, Families, and Schools Committee said: “Green Councillors welcome this decision by the Schools Adjudicator, which comes closer to reflecting what school staff, governors, and parents have been asking for from the very start.

Labour’s decision was rushed through with little consideration for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, many of whom would have been left without a school to go to this September, had the Schools Adjudicator not stepped in.

“We urge Labour to use this as an opportunity to reconsider their disastrous decision to force this school to close. Now is the time for them to produce a report on our proposal to save both St Bartholomew’s and Bright Start Nursery, which they refused to even consider earlier this year. It’s not too late to correct course and do what is best for local families.”

Ends

NOTES 

[1] Office of the Schools Adjudicator Determination: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brighton-hove.gov.uk%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2F2024-06%2FSt%2520Bartholomew%2527s%2520CofE%2520Primary%2520School%2520Determination.docx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2024/06/17/school-slated-for-closure-gets-six-month-reprieve/

[2] Green Councillors’ Notice of Motion (p19): https://democracy.brighton-hove.gov.uk/documents/b39210/Addendum%201%2022nd-Jan-2024%2016.00%20Children%20Families%20Schools%20Committee.pdf?T=9

[3] National Labour Party policy on childcare: https://labour.org.uk/updates/stories/labours-plan-for-childcare-and-early-education/

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