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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