Since winning an extra council seat at the Brunswick & Adelaide by-election in Hove on 4 July, Green councillors have been due to receive an extra seat on the council’s committees.

Despite multiple attempts to meet with the Labour administration and discuss where this allocation should be, Greens were told yesterday (19 September) that their new seat will be on the non-political Licensing Committee, rather than the Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) which helps to oversee the wider performance of the Council.

Greens claim the move is a politically-motivated one, designed to avoid proper scrutiny from the official opposition to the Labour administration.

Currently, Greens have just one seat on the Place OSC – having a second would give them enough councillors to put forward Notices of Motion and propose amendments to items on the agenda, giving them a louder voice and more opportunities to drive the Committee’s agenda.

Earlier this year, Labour changed the council’s governance system from Committee to Cabinet, putting decision-making powers in the hands of 10 Labour Cabinet Members despite making no reference to this in their local election manifesto.

As part of this process, two ‘Overview and Scrutiny’ Committees – ‘Place’ and ‘People’ – were created to scrutinise Cabinet Member decisions.

Steve Davis, Leader of Green Group said: “This is a clear attempt by the Labour administration to stifle democracy and shut out opposition voices. Their switch to the less democratic Cabinet system earlier this year had no mandate from residents, and now they are trying to avoid proper scrutiny by blocking opposition members from the very committees that are supposed to keep the administration in check.”

“It’s more obvious than ever that Brighton & Hove Labour reflect the increasingly authoritarian nature of their national party and are not remotely interested in proper debate and scrutiny. Despite what [Labour council leader] Cllr Sankey may think, people in this city who didn’t vote Labour still deserve their voices to be heard, and to be properly represented within this council.”

Notes

One of Labour’s own councillors, Joy Robinson, is currently under investigation after appearing to brag about Greens having “no voice” in the council, in a now-deleted tweet: https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2024/09/18/here-are-the-reasons-for-the-latest-complaints-about-councillors/

Seats on committees are allocated based on the number of councillors of a political party. Prior to the by-election on the 4 July, Greens were allocated eight out of the total 63 seats – their win at the by-election increased that number to nine.

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Wednesday’s counter-demonstration showed hope will always win against hate in Brighton and Hove 

9 August 2024 – Brighton and Hove Green Party were proud to join the thousands of counter-protesters who flooded Queen’s Road in Brighton to protest peacefully against the threat of organised racist and Islamophobia violence on the streets of our city on Wednesday.

The anti-racist crowd vastly outnumbered a tiny group of anti-immigration protesters. 

The racist protesters in the city on Wednesday were few and believed to have come from outside Brighton and Hove, as part of a targeted online campaign.

Greens are clear that these people are not welcome in our city and we are proud to have stood with the people of Brighton and Hove in opposition to these attacks on our communities. 

Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, Sian Berry, was among the counter-protesters along with city Green councillors Steve Davis, Kerry Pickett, Sue Shanks, Pete West and Ollie Sykes. 

Brighton and Hove is a proud ‘City of Sanctuary’, which celebrates diversity and is a safe, welcoming place for refugees. These values are embedded in our communities and across the city and will remain so.

Pic: Green city councillors Kerry Pickett and Steve Davis at the anti-fascist counter-rally.

Greens are clear that what is happening on streets across the country is not ‘thuggery’ but organised political violence perpetrated by fascist, domestic terrorists. This cannot stand and it is imperative that the Labour government starts to call out this violence for what it is and take action accordingly. 

Steve Davis, leader of the opposition on Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “Everyone has the right to feel safe living in our city. We want to support our residents in countering the wider impacts of this hatred that has made some people feel they cannot belong here if they do not fit within a fascist’s view of society.”

Greens stand in solidarity with every community that has been attacked or threatened by organised political violence on our streets in recent weeks.

Greens also support the police and emergency workers who are protecting the people in these communities as well as the community leaders and individuals working to bring communities together in the face of a political campaign that aims to divide us. 

Please reach out personally where you can to show solidarity with Muslim people and members of other ethnic minorities in your community. Together we can show that solidarity and love are stronger than hatred and fear.

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Reacting to the King’s Speech, Adrian Ramsay MP said: “Labour promised change but it has fallen short of the urgent transformative programme we need, and which the Government has the power to deliver.  

“Our four Green MPs, and the nearly two million people who voted Green in the election, want to see a bolder Labour Government that will invest in ambitious change, including to restore our essential public services and tackle the climate and nature emergencies.    

“This is what a genuinely ambitious programme would look like, rather than a fixation on growth for growth’s sake which fails to recognise the big challenges.”

“We welcome the Prime Minister resetting the tone of politics as being about public service and there were some welcome announcements in the King’s Speech, but Labour’s ambition will sadly be hampered for as long as they handcuff themselves with the Conservatives’ fiscal rules.   

“Greens want action to clean up our rivers and seas by ending the failed experiment of water privatisation, the immediate scrapping of the cruel two-child benefit cap, no climate-wrecking oil and gas extraction from Rosebank, and local authorities to be given the powers to introduce controls on private rent levels.

“This is what a genuinely ambitious programme would look like, rather than a fixation on growth for growth’s sake which fails to recognise the big challenges.”

“This is what a genuinely ambitious programme would look like, rather than a fixation on growth for growth’s sake which fails to recognise the big challenges.”

ends

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Greens made history with three other MPs also being elected for the first time: Carla Denyer in Bristol Central, Adrian Ramsay in Waveney Valley and Ellie Chowns in North Herefordshire.

Brighton Pavilion result 4 July 2024 (BBC)

https://greenparty.org.uk/2024/07/05/four-mps-green-party-makes-history/

Siân Berry, newly elected as MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone in Brighton who has put their trust in me and the Green Party. This is a very special city, and together we’ve made history again.

“I promise to work hard as your new Green MP and make sure your voices are heard in Parliament. By voting for me, you have demanded action on the NHS, the water companies, housing, and the climate emergency, and I will be there to make sure the new Government delivers on all these priorities.

“I am infinitely grateful to Caroline Lucas for her support throughout the campaign, and for being such a model of how to be an effective MP for Brighton and the country.

“It’s hard to express my delight at joining Carla Denyer, Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns, I know they will all be brilliant.

“Finally, congratulations to the new Prime Minister elect. I will make sure you take up the good ideas in our Green manifesto without delay.”

Full result: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001130

The Greens came second in Hove & Portslade with Sophie Broadbent and and almost beat the Tories into second place with Elaine Hills in Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven.

There was also bonus council by-election win for the Greens in Brunswick & Adelaide ward in Hove with the election of former city councillor Ollie Sykes to fill a vacant seat previously held by Labour.

ends

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Siân Berry said: “Now we have the final list of people standing, I would like to challenge all the other candidates in Brighton Pavilion to agree to a Clean Campaign Promise during this general election campaign.

“Public regard for politicians has never been lower, and it is crucial that we help regain the public’s trust in the democratic process.”

Candidates taking the pledge will commit to a positive and honest campaign, to refrain from personal attacks, and to make only honest claims about their record and those of others.

Siân continued: “Voters are tired of negative campaigning, of insults and innuendo.

“I will continue to campaign on the issues that matter to local people including the NHS, sewage in our seas, renting and housing concerns, peace in Palestine and urgent climate action. I will conduct an honest campaign and not take part in any personal attacks.

“I very much hope the other candidates will immediately confirm they are also happy to make this promise.”

“If elected, I will serve the people of Brighton as an honest and independent voice, who will represent and fight for the issues that local residents care about.”

“This is reflected in my campaign, which is why I have signed up to this Clean Campaign Promise today.”

Siân Berry’s Clean Campaign Promise to Brighton:

• To run a clean, positive and honest campaign around the issues that matter to local people.
• To tell the truth about what I stand for and have achieved, and about the record of other candidates.
• To respect my opponents and refrain from personal attacks.

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The results, which were announced Sunday afternoon, showed a drop in support for Labour and an increase in support for the Greens. There was a 8.5% swing from Labour to the Greens in Queen’s Park, with Labour’s vote dropping by 14%.

Luke Walker, the Green candidate in Queen’s Park, said “These by-elections were unnecessary and caused by Labour’s failure to vet their own candidates properly, but voters have selected Labour to represent them again and I wish the new councillors well.

“I had a great response on the doorsteps in Queen’s Park and will do my best to make sure that the new councillor delivers for local people.”

Ricky Perrin, the Green candidate in Kemptown, said “Well done to the new Labour councillor, but I hope this time they do the work that the people here need. And that means getting on top of missed rubbish and recycling collections, increased litter, potholes, blocked pavements, drug dealers, dog poo, graffiti, street safety and anti-social behaviour. So far, Labour’s performance on these issues has been very poor. I hope the new councillor can do a lot better.”

Green Council Group convenor Cllr Steve Davis commented, “We are only one year into this Labour administration and we are already seeing their support drop substantially. If this result were replicated across the city, Labour would lose five of its current councillors to the Greens.”

“This was an increase in support for Brighton & Hove Green Party and shows that local people are looking for better than what Labour are offering.

“Our candidates showed how passionate local Greens are about improving our neighbourhoods and city, and we want to thank them for their great work in both wards.”

Cllr Davis added, “We congratulate the new Labour councillors on their election and we will make sure they deliver on the promises they have made to voters.”

Notes

Full results from Brighton & Hove City Council

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Luke (pictured) and Ricky say that residents are frustrated by the poor performance of CityClean and that the toxic culture exacerbated by previously sacked workers being re-employed is one of the causes of this poor service.

They echo Green councillors who recently called for a ‘root and branch’ reform of the way employment appeals are managed and the relationship between councillors and union representatives. 

An independent report by senior barrister Aileen McColgan KC commissioned by the council last year concluded there was a culture of bullying, misogyny, homophobia and violent intimidation in the CityClean workforce at its main Brighton depot.

Labour councillors who were members of the GMB union which represents many waste service workers served on employment appeal panels to consider cases where the GMB appealed a decision on behalf of one of its union members, which could be a conflict of interest.

Greens say that it cannot be right that Labour councillors who were members of the GMB Union, including some who made declarations about receiving donations from the union, played such a significant role in employee decisions about GMB representatives who had been accused of unacceptable behaviour at the depot. 

The KC report makes clear that allegations of political interference extended beyond member appeal panels and it is not acceptable for Labour councillors to refuse to address conflict of interest concerns that have impacted on such an important service in the city.

Three CityClean employees were reinstated by Labour councillors who served on a personnel appeals panel, despite the Labour Party’s close links to GMB union. 

Luke Walker: “There are questions to be answered by Labour on its councillors’ union affiliation and possible biased decision making when serving on these employment appeal panels which the McColgan report was very clear needs addressing”

Queen’s Park Green candidate Luke Walker said, “Greens will defend workers’ rights. We strongly support trade unions and their members. With CityClean, the evidence of a prejudiced workplace and bullying culture identified in Aileen McColgan’s report must be sorted. We believe this goes to the heart of the poor performance of the service over recent years.

“We welcome the decision to end the practice of councillors voting on employment appeal tribunals given the potential for conflict of interest.

“Councillors should not be involved in an employment dispute where they are linked to one side or another by political, professional membership or other affiliation and did not recuse themselves from participating.

“But we need to go further. There are questions to be answered by Labour on its councillors’ union affiliation and possible biased decision making when serving on these employment appeal panels which the McColgan report was very clear needs addressing.

“As Labour are now running the council, they have a duty to be transparent about their links with unions and other interested groups and what that means for workers’ welfare and for people’s waste and recycling services in the city. 

“These independent reports into the actions of Labour councillors, which Labour tried to cover up and are only now emerging through Freedom of Information requests, show that there is a public interest to know more about the relationship.”

Luke added, “We also urge the Labour-run council to publish a 2019 union investigation into workplace culture at CityClean (the Doherty report) which we believe may help the council address some of these workplace problems. So far the Labour administration has refused to release the report. The waste depot’s workplace culture is failing and the city deserves full disclosure if public confidence is to be restored.”

ends 

The KC report into the CityClean workplace culture is available at: https://www.11kbw.com/knowledge-events/news/brighton-hove-investigation/

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Voters across Sussex, including Brighton & Hove, will go to the polls on Thursday 2 May to pick the new Police and Crime Commissioner, the same day as two Brighton & Hove City Council by-elections (in Queen’s Park and Kemptown) caused by the resignation of two former Labour councillors.

The Green Party has chosen former BBC journalist Jonathan Kent as its candidate for Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner

The Green Party candidate won 13.4% of the vote Sussex-wide when the post was last contested in 2021 – although it is likely that Green support in Brighton & Hove, where there is strong support for the Greens, was proportionally higher.

Jonathan said: “We know what the best policing looks like because so many officers deliver that day-in day-out. I want everyone who lives in Sussex to be able to expect that regardless of the colour of their skin, background, gender or [other] orientation.”

“I’ll focus on preventing crime and violence, women’s and girls’ safety and support better funding for youth services while working to ensure we have excellent officers who are welcomed to the heart of every community and every home.”

Siân Berry, Green MP candidate for Brighton Pavilion constituency, said: “Green members in Sussex have made a great choice. Jonathan is exactly the sort of person needed for a position like this.

“We are in strong agreement about the need to prevent crime in the first place, and that’s why funding for youth services is so crucial and will be such a big part of his campaign.

“Youth services have been undervalued and undercut under this Conservative government, but this is where the investment is needed.”

The Green Party believes that criminal justice cannot be divorced from its wider social context. The party has long argued for more focus on crime prevention and the use of restorative justice, an approach increasingly being adopted by police services across the country including in Sussex.

Restorative justice puts the emphasis on the offender making amends to the victim of their crime and aims to avoid pushing people into a life of reoffending.

Jonathan grew up and lives in Ticehurst in Sussex and went to local state schools before reading philosophy and theology at Oxford University.

As a former journalist and foreign correspondent, he campaigned on issues such as human rights, miscarriages of justice, the treatment of migrant workers and sex trafficking.

Jonathan said: “People are really struggling at the moment – the NHS, schools, transport and the other services we rely on have been run down; the cost of living is rising and incomes aren’t stretching as far as they used to.”

“Wildlife and nature are struggling too. Our beaches and rivers are polluted, habitats are being destroyed. At the same time countries that should be finding ways to work together to stop our climate spinning out of control are increasingly in conflict with one another instead.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way. Greens believe that the answer lies in working together across social divides and party lines to build a Britain and a future in which everyone matters.”

ends

For more info on voter registration for the Police & Crime Commissioner election and how to make your vote count, visit Brighton & Hove City Council’s election pages

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2 April 2024 – Ricky, 45, is a community campaigner, disability sports teacher and a dad. Brighton-born, he has lived in the city for most of his life and in east Brighton for the last eight years. 

“Every penny counts right now for schools, social care, charity, community and third sector organisations in the city. So, for Labour to spend a load of taxpayer cash on by-elections in the month that everyone (including me) has seen their council tax bill jump by 5% is wrong.”

Ricky said: “I have been involved with disability sports for years and have been campaigning to get better leisure centre facilities here in Brighton, with our public services, charity and community services being hit hard by cuts.

“I have felt for a long time that our elected officials locally and nationally do not represent people that rely on these public services. At a time when our public services are being stripped back with budget cuts, the people of Brighton and Hove are footing the bill for the by-elections here in Kemptown and in Queen’s Park, due to the previously elected people who won these seats allegedly not living in Brighton.

“Not only should the preceding councillors pay back any allowances or tax-payer money they received, but the party that selected them should pay all the costs to hold this by-election. Every penny counts right now for schools, social care, charity, community and third sector organisations in the city. So, for Labour to spend a load of taxpayer cash on by-elections in the month that everyone (including me) has seen their council tax bill jump by 5% is wrong.”  

Ricky added, “It should not have to be ordinary people  paying for these by-elections during our cost-of-living crisis and as child poverty and homelessness are rising in the city. If elected, you will find me in and around the community, at the end of an email or a zoom call to highlight the things that matter to all the people of Kemptown ward.” 

Ricky is passionate about protecting local services from the massive funding cuts to local authorities carried out by the Conservative government. He is critical of the decision by Brighton & Hove’s Labour-run council to close schools and axe vital voluntary and charity sector funding. In Ricky’s view, Labour have abandoned many of the promises they made to residents in last year’s local elections and residents in Kemptown deserve a strong opposition voice to hold the Labour administration to account. As a wheelchair user, Ricky also has first-hand knowledge of NHS services. 

The Greens were the closest challengers to Labour in the May 2023  local elections.

The Kemptown by-election is taking place due to the resignation of ex-Labour councillor Bharti Gajjar. Ms Gajjar was expelled from Labour last December alongside former Queen’s Park councillor, Chandni Mistry after the party investigated claims that the pair were living in Leicester. Both councillors have allegedly claimed thousands of pounds in allowances, despite barely attending any meetings; they are reported to have been unresponsive when contacted by residents. Questions still remain about how two individuals believed to be living outside the city were selected by the Labour Party. 

Ricky Perrin’s longer personal statement is below ‘Voter Information’ if of interest.

Ends

Notes

Voter information

• The election will take place on Thursday 2 May – polls to open from 7am to 10pm. Remember to bring valid voter ID.
• Voter deadlines: deadline for council to receive new postal vote or proxy vote applications is 17 April, 5pm. 
• More information from Brighton & Hove City Council Elections Department https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/voting-and-elections/kemptown-and-queens-park-elections-thursday-2-may-2024
• Residents in Queens Park ward who wish to vote in the by-election and need to register please visit https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
• Or call council electoral services on 01273 291 999 (Monday to Friday 9:30am to 1:30pm) or email: electors@brighton-hove

To help with Ricky’s campaign contact the Brighton & Hove Green Party on our site: https://www.brightonhovegreens.org/contact/

Personal statement from Ricky Perrin

I was born in Brighton and have spent almost my whole life living in different areas of the city, living in east Brighton for the last eight years. In my early 20s, I had an injury that left me paralysed and using a wheelchair; my insurance did not pay out and I spent many years relying on the NHS, doctors, pharmacies, social housing, charities, and community services.

I have first-hand experience of needing our local services, and I feel they need protection so that if you or your family need them one day in the future, they are there for you in your time of need.

I am always getting involved in community bits and pieces, from food co-ops and food banks to community sports and community hubs; many people see me out and about walking my dog around the streets of Brighton, the seafront or in local parks.

Having always lived by the sea I get very upset by the levels of sewage being pumped into our rivers and sea and this led me to get more involved with the Green Party as they highlighted the issue. 

I have a teenage son, now 17. As he has grown up, I have become more concerned with climate issues, thinking about the world we leave behind us for future generations.

I currently work for a local disability charity in the mental health lived experience team. On my days off I take sports wheelchairs to schools and get children playing wheelchair sports like basketball, tennis and rugby. So if your child has returned home from school saying they did wheelchair sports in the last eight years then that could have been with me! I hope meeting them changed the perception of people with a disability they had before meeting me.

A year ago I missed out on being elected in the local elections in Brighton. While  I am really happy to have another go at being elected, I am upset about the reasons why these by-elections are being held! 

I hope that running as a candidate for a second time will inspire more people with mental and physical health conditions and disabilities to get involved in politics. 

++++++++++

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