Category Archives: Pete West

Blogging, tweeting councillors in Brighton & Hove

Posted on 3 August 2012 | 8 Comments

These days anyone can talk to everyone for free by blogging or getting some kind of social media account. So far as the latter is concerned, twitter is by far and away the most useful. Celebrities, media junkies, various other extroverts and, of course, politicians make use of these new mediums. Today, I’m focusing on this last category of talkers – those who would seek to govern us. By doing the new technologies, they sidestep established media completely and thus avoid the manner in which these esteemed organs curate the news. Now it is possible to discuss matters directly with the highest policy wonks and pullers of the levers of power.

Every day radio and television news discusses what twitter has been talking about because more Britons are active on twitter (11 million) than buy a daily newspaper (9 million). We are living through the cusp of change. The early adopters seized the new opportunities some time ago, the ready to be convinced were fledgling technocrats by the time of the last general election in the UK and the most reluctant parts of the political world have now grudgingly accepted that they must join in. Yet some still resist. Of the refuseniks, some are probably too stuck in their ways to progress beyond occasional or frequent use of emails, some are frightened of the dragons that await inside the blogosphere and some don’t really want to talk to other people. Some just want the status that comes with their high office and are happy to be guided by their public relations consultants or party spin doctors.

Brighton & Hove City Council is comprised of 54 councillors. Presently, there are 23 Greens, 18 Tories and 13 Labour Party councillors. Our local population is, according to official statistics, very well educated. One-third of them have a degree. We are well known for our vibrant digital economy and when we do buy newspapers, we are frequently given the impression that they are written by people who live here. You might think that in these circumstances, a very high proportion of our local politicians would be active online. There’s no shortage of matters to discuss. Are our politicking brigade leading the discussions? I’ll take each by turn, using the simple but expedient method of a google search to determine whether they blog or use twitter. Of course, this will not establish whether they write something online anonymously but that can hardly be claimed to be assisting the political dialogue.

  • Dawn Barnett is a Conservative Party Councillor for Hangleton and Knoll Ward. She does not blog or use twitter.
  • Jayne Bennett is a Conservative Party Councillor for Hove Park Ward. She does not blog or use twitter.
  • Geoffrey Bowden is a Green Party Councillor for Queen’s Park. He does not blog but he is very active on twitter: @TheSussexSquare
  • Vanessa Brown is a Conservative Party Councillor for Hove Park. She does not blog or use twitter.
  • Ruth Buckley is a Green Party Councillor for Goldsmid Ward. She does not blog or use twitter.
  • Bob Carden is a Labour Party Councillor for North Portslade. He does not blog or use twitter.
  • Denise Cobb is a Conservative Party Councillor for Westbourne Ward and is the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. She does not blog or use twitter.
  • Graham Cox is a Conservative Party Councillor for Westbourne Ward. For a while he ran two blogs! On 1st May 2012 he abandoned his personal blog because it had been a place where he could “write ‘opinions strictly my own’ type entries on here.” He says he realised that in fact, “there is really no such thing.” After that he has only maintained his official Conservative Party blog. Mr Cox is also very active on twitter: @CoxGraham
  • Ian Davey is a Green Party Councillor for St Peter’s & North Laine Ward and is the Chair of the Transport Committee. He does not blog or use twitter.
  • Lizzie Dean is a Green Party Councillor for St Peter’s & North Laine Ward and is the Chair of Licensing Committee. She does not blog. She has a twitter account but it has been inactive for more than two years: @LizzieDeaneBton.
  • Ben Duncan is a Green Party Councillor for Queen’s Park and is the Chair of Community Safety Forum. He was a very active blogger and tweeter until very recently when he stopped suddenly. The precise reasons for his unexpected silence are closely guarded secrets although they can be easily guessed at, given the heat that his political opponents turned on him for deploying a risqué sense of humour. Being funny is a serious crime in our boring political world. I know exactly how and why he came to quit the online chat (don’t ask – I’m not going to tell you, not yet anyway) and, as with many others, I want him to come back.
  • Leigh Farrow is a Labour Party Councillor for Moulsecoomb & Bevendean Ward. He does not blog or tweet.
  • Brian Fitch is a Labour Party Councillor for Hangleton & Knoll Ward. He does not blog or tweet.
  • Matt Follett is a Green Party Councillor for Hanover & Elm Grove Ward. He does not blog or tweet.
  • Penny Gilbey is a Labour Party Councillor for North Portslade Ward. She does not blog but she does tweet frequently: @PortsladePen.
  • Les Hamilton is a Labour Party Councillor for South Portslade Ward. He does not blog or tweet.
  • Christopher Hawtree is a Green Party Councillor for Central Hove Ward. He blogs beautifully and has taken to twitter like the proverbial quacking animal does to water but with more eloquence and wit than any political animal and beats many of our celebrity heroes hands down too: @chrishawtree.
  • Linda Hyde is a Conservative Party Councillor for Rottingdean Coastal Ward. She does not blog or tweet.
  • Tony Janio is a Conservative Party Councillor for Hangleton & Knoll. He does not blog or tweet.
  • Rob Jarrett is a Green Party Councillor for Goldsmid Ward and is the Chair of the Adult Care & Health Committee. He does not blog but he tweets frequently: @RobHove.
  • Mike Jones is a Green Party Councillor for Preston Park Ward. He does not blog or tweet.
  • Amy Kennedy is a Green Party Councillor for Preston Park Ward. She does not blog but she does tweet. She is presently recovering from a serious illness – that’s why she is less active than she was formerly on twitter: @AmyK_redux – everyone’s looking forward to her getting well very soon!
  • Ania Kitcat is a Green Party Councillor for Regency Ward. She does not blog or tweet.
  • Jason Kitcat hardly needs an introduction of any kind. He is a Green Party Councillor for Regency Ward and Leader of the Council. He is a very active blogger and tweeter: @JasonKitcat.
  • Jeane Lepper is a Labour Party Councillor for Hollingdean & Stanmer Ward. She does not blog or tweet.
  • Leo Littman is a Green Party Councillor for Preston Park Ward. He does not blog or tweet.
  • Phelim Mac Cafferty is a Green Party Councillor for Brunswick & Adelaide Ward. He does not blog but he is a very active tweeter: @Phelimmac.
  • Jo Marsh is a Labour Party Councillor for Moulsecoomb & Bevendean Ward. She does not blog or tweet.
  • Ann Meadows is a Labour Party Councillor for Moulsecoomb & Bevendean Ward. She does not blog or tweet.
  • Mary Mears is a Conservative Party Councillor for Rottingdean Coastal Ward. She did blog between September 2009 and July 2011 but seems to have abandoned her extensive efforts since then. She does not tweet. Perhaps with no elections in sight, she cannot see the point of it?
  • Gill Mitchell is a Labour Party Councillor for East Brighton Ward. She does not blog or tweet.
  • Warren Morgan is a Labour Party Councillor for East Brighton Ward. He does not blog but is a very active tweeter: @warrenmorgan.
  • Ann Norman is a Conservative Party Councillor for Withdean Ward. She does not blog. She has a twitter account but as with her husband (below), she does not use it, so as with Ben Duncan, I’m not counting her. There’s only three tweets there, all sent on 18th March of this year, concluding with the statement that for her, “being an effective councillor for my residents and for the city… is a full time job“, by which she presumably means that she hasn’t got time for anything else.
  • Ken Norman is a Conservative Party Councillor for Withdean Ward. He does not blog. He has a twitter account but like Ben Duncan and his wife he does not use it, so I’m not counting him either. Like his wife, his account doesn’t reveal much enthusiasm. There are only 7 tweets between February 2009 and today! The first announces who he is, presumably because he doesn’t understand that is what is bio space is for – he’s left that blank. Two and a half years later he updated his job description in another tweet. On the same day he praised David Cameron. Nine months after that he tweeted a single name, enigmatically: “Jason Kitcat” (also on this list). In a rush of activity, five days later he tweeted his wife’s account name, twice. In June of this year, he boasted that he was going to Buckingham Palace. It is fair to say that he doesn’t get it.
  • Gary Peltzer Dunn is a Conservative Party Councillor for Wish Ward. He does not blog or tweet.
  • Alex Phillips is a Green Party Councillor for Goldsmid Ward. She does not blog (although she does have a personal, political website for her campaign to become Green Party Deputy Leader). She is so active on twitter that she has had more than one account, moving from one to another as she ups her political ambitions. Currently she is tweeting here: @alexfordeputy.
  • Brian Pidgeon is a Conservative Party Councillor for Patcham Ward. He does not blog or tweet.
  • Anne Pissaridou is a Labour Party Councillor for Wish Ward. She does not blog but she tweets frequently: @paulinemable.
  • Stephanie Powell is a Green Party Councillor for Queen’s Park Ward. She does not blog or tweet.
  • Bill Randall is a Green Party Councillor for Hanover & Elm Grove Ward and is also the Mayor of Brighton & Hove. He does not blog but he is very active on twitter: @BillRandallBHCC.
  • Alan Robins is a Labour Party Councillor for South Portslade Ward. He does not blog or tweet.
  • Sven Rufus is a Green Party Councillor for Hollingdean & Stanmer Ward. He has taken to blogging recently and is very active on twitter: @SvenRufus.
  • Sue Shanks is a Green Party Councillor for Withdean Ward. She does not blog but she tweets occasionally: @ShanksSue.
  • Dee Simson is a Conservative Party Councillor for Withdean Ward. She does not blog but she tweets frequently: @Woodingdean_Dee.
  • David Smith is a Conservative Party Councillor for Rottingdean Coastal Ward. He does not blog or tweet.
  • Christina Summers is a Green Party Councillor for Hollingdean & Stanmer Ward. She does not blog but she is on twitter: @SummersCM.
  • Ollie Sykes is a Green Party Councillor for Brunswick & Adelaide Ward. He doesn’t blog or tweet but he does share an occasionally used twitter account with Phelim Mac Cafferty: @Brunswick_Green.
  • Carol Theobald is a Conservative Party Councillor for Patcham Ward. She doesn’t blog or tweet.
  • Geoffrey Theobald is a Conservative Party Councillor for Patcham Ward and Leader of the Opposition. He doesn’t blog or tweet.
  • Craig Turton is a Labour Party Councillor for East Brighton Ward. He doesn’t blog or tweet.
  • Liz Wakefield is a Green Party Councillor for Hanover & Elm Grove Ward. She doesn’t blog but she is very active on twitter: @LizGreenBH.
  • Andrew Wealls is a Conservative Party Councillor for Central Hove Ward. He doesn’t blog but he is an infrequent tweeter: @Wealls.
  • Geoffrey Wells is a Conservative Party Councillor for Woodingdean Ward. He doesn’t blog or tweet.
  • Pete West is a Green Party Councillor for St Peter’s & North Laine Ward. He doesn’t blog or tweet.

19 Councillors out of 54 are engaging directly with the voters by blogging and tweeting – that’s 35%. Is this good enough? How does this compare with other local authorities?

Inevitably more Greens are currently active online – there are more of them on the council. Taken by party, 13 out of the 23 Green Councillors are ‘engaged’ (57%), 3 out of 13 Labour Councillors (23%) and 3 out of 18 Conservative Councillors (17%). Age obviously comes into play, with younger councillors being more likely to adopt the new technologies but that doesn’t explain the situation away altogether.

The Conservative Party seems to acknowledge the issue – it’s website gives the official Conservative Twitter feed as a place to contact all its councillors without their own account, despite this approach defeating the big advantage of twitter: direct, personal contact. The times they are a-changed but the older politicians don’t seem ready to accept modernity just yet.

Very few doubt that within a decade newspapers as we know them will be dead. Lots of our local councillors waste their time by writing to our local rag, a poisonous contribution to politics popularly known as The Evening Anus, even though it only sells approximately 5,000 copies per day and probably half of those to businesses who use it for little more than table space filling. We can have some sympathy with hard working councillors who have allowed their brains to become too stuck in their current methodologies to cope with digital life but we have to ask them, don’t you want young people to vote for you? Don’t you know how people communicate these days? What are you waiting for?

There’s been much fuss in Brighton & Hove lately about whether politicians should be independently minded or not. On close analysis, most sensible commentators agree that we want them to vote for the policies owned by the parties whose platforms they stood on. That need not stop them from expressing themselves freely online, from debating the issues thoroughly, from being available for communication free from party spin doctors. Our national political life is completely tedious because it appears to be dominated by policy wonkers and people who, frankly, you would not want to spend an evening in the pub with. We want real people in charge of our lives. That’s the whole point of democracy.

We know that our politicians will be forced to accept the modern communication systems or lose office. The question is how quickly they will catch up with the rest of us. That is still a challenge for all parties.

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Posted in Alan Robins, Alex Phillips, Amy Kennedy, Andrew Wealls, Ania Kitcat, Ann Meadows, Ann Norman, Ann Pissaridou, Ben Duncan, Bill Randall, Blogging, Bob Carden, Brian Fitch, Brian Pidgeon, Brighton, Brunswick & Adelaide, Carol Theobald, Central Hove, Christina Summers, Christopher Hawtree, Craig Turton, David Smith, Dawn Barnett, Dee Simson, Denise Cobb, East Brighton, Gary Peltzer Dunn, Geoffrey Bowden, Geoffrey Theobald, Geoffrey Wells, Gill Mitchell, Goldsmid, Graham Cox, Green Party, Hangleton & Knoll, Hanover & Elm Grove, Hollingdean & Stanmer, Hove, Hove Park, Ian Davey, Jason Kitcat, Jayne Bennett, Jeane Lepper, Jo Marsh, Ken Norman, Labour Party, Leigh Farrow, Leo Littman, Les Hamilton, Linda Hyde, Liz Wakefield, Lizzie Dean, Mary Mears, Matt Follett, Mike Jones, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, North Portslade, Ollie Sykes, Patcham, Penny Gilbey, Pete West, Phelim Mac Cafferty, Politics, Politics in the Cave, Preston Park, Queen's Park, Regency, Rob Jarrett, Rottingdean Coastal, Ruth Buckley, South Portslade, St Peter's & North Laine, Stephanie Powell, Sue Shanks, Sven Rufus, Thieving Tory Bastards, Tony Janio, Twitter, Vanessa Brown, Warren Morgan, Westbourne, Wish, Withdean, Woodingdean

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A political party which keeps controversial promises

Posted on 7 January 2012 | Leave a comment

Prior to the most recent local elections, Brighton & Hove Green Party campaigned on various issues but the one which attracted most attention was their promise to find a permanent site for the Travellers who encamp around the City. They were the only party to have a definite policy on the issue locally. The Liberal Democrats (a spent force locally with no councillors) and the Labour Party have remained silent on the issue. The local Conservative Party reacted by organising a racist campaign against Travellers. The Greens determination to find a solution to the problem of these people having had their traditional lifestyle extinguished by modernity generated national press attention, little of which was favourable. Nevertheless the Greens have stuck to their promise, despite being a minority administration. Brighton & Hove now has an official policy for Travellers (153K PDF download at that link).

The policy had two stages. The first was a transitional stage, during which Travellers were asked to sign good neighbour compacts. The second is the establishment of a permanent site. The first stage meant that where there were problems, the Travellers could be moved on. True to its word the City Council did move on Travellers who caused problems, notably those who set up camp in the City’s parks. Official figures reveal that the average time it took to move on those who the City Council wished to remove was cut in half. The Greens argue that this proves the value of having an actual policy to deal with the issue. It seems that they may have a point – knowing where the parties stand on any one piece of ground has caused an efficiency hitherto unseen when the Conservative Party ran Brighton & Hove.

Existing Traveller Transit Site At Braypool Lane, Horsdean, near Brighton & Hove

Pete West, the Green Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability in Brighton & Hove City Council declared that he intended to announce a favoured site by Christmas 2011. A consultation exercise was launched. Various proposed sites were put forward – more than 50 were considered. Some of these were inside the South Downs National Park. When the consultation exercise concluded, the results pointed to a place at Horsdean as being the best for a permanent Traveller site. Here’s the City Council’s Press Release on the Horsdean site. There is an existing transit site there for Travellers. It will be expanded. The photograph above shows that it is separated from a large residential area by the Brighton bypass which is an A-Road masquerading as a motorway and a little distance from some other houses at the other end of Braypool Lane. The photograph doesn’t reveal that it is in a little natural valley (properly speaking a coombe) on the downland and, consequently, very discreetly situated.

The City Council has a £1.7m government grant to develop the site. Since it is inside the South Downs National Park, the planning application will have to be decided by the National Park’s Planning Committee rather than the City Council. The decision is expected in March 2012. A pitch on a permanent traveller site is just the same as a council house insofar as the residents are responsible for paying their rent, utilities and council tax. What’s not to like?

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Posted in Brighton, Hove, Pete West, Politics, Politics in the Cave, Racism, Travellers

Brighton & Hove: a tale of two types of politics

Posted on 7 September 2011 | Leave a comment

The thieving Tory bastards are campaigning on only one issue in Brighton & Hove: the Travellers. The fact is that when in power they had no clear policies for what to do with them and they still have no proposals – check out their website. I can’t bring myself to even link to it but it’s easy to find; it’s the political website without a policy section at all. Compare and contrast to Brighton & Hove Green Party or Brighton & Hove Labour Party. Brighton & Hove Liberal Democrats don’t trouble themselves with listing policies either. It must be a strategic decision by the thieving Tory bastards and the Liberal Democrats to decline to share their policies with us. It’s a cynical abuse of the political process. With no policies to promote, these people have to fall back on negative campaigning.

Unsurprisingly, that’s exactly what’s happening in Brighton & Hove. The Liberal Democrats are a spent force in the City, with no councillors left at all. The thieving Tory bastards have been campaigning on only one issue: the Travellers. They have mounted a racist campaign on this front. Think that’s too strong?

It’s well recognised that the Travellers are a distinct social group in the country. This is recognised by every organisation and group that has an interest in the matter. I was going to list them but that would take forever because it would include everyone who has ever considered the matter. For years this social group has been hounded by our society, our media and our leading politicians. I’m not suggesting that there is an easy answer to the problem caused by the fact that every available piece of land is apparently being legitimately used and they now have nowhere to go. Life on the roadside has been killed off. The Travellers have been vilified in the press and by people who should know better. Have a look at Jewify.org, which substitutes the word Jew for the words Gypsy and Traveller, and ask yourself, are you comfortable with what you’re actually reading? If you are, you’re probably a racist… That site has been created to make a point, admittedly, but it makes it very well.

The thieving Tory bastards have been focussing on this issue because they have nothing left to campaign about. They lost the general election (but got their grubby hands on power anyway) and they lost our local election here in Brighton & Hove. Now they write letters to the Evening Anus only about this issue. Their members are being encouraged to do likewise. Their campaign is reminiscent of the campaign their party led in Smethwick in 1964 but without a catchy slogan. Smethwick was a safe Labour seat which the thieving Tory bastards won with the slogan, “If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Labour”. Our local thieving Tory bastards have been writing letters predicated on the idea that the forthcoming eviction of Dale Farm in Essex will lead to hundreds more Travellers coming to Brighton & Hove. Simon Kirby, the MP for Kemptown, said:

“We shall see who is right, when a large group of travellers leaves Essex in the near future. Where will they go? “To a council that is not sympathetic, or one, by the statements of its senior figures, that appears to be?”

Source

He should apologise for this scare-mongering. They’re not going to come here. They’re a clan based in Essex and Ireland. They’re not going to tread on our local Traveller’s turf. Incidentally, the Travellers who bought Dale Farm were advised to do so by Basildon Council, who then changed their policy towards them immediately after purchase. They’re not planning on going anywhere as it happens. They’re planning to resist what will be the largest eviction Europe has ever seen: it’s going to be a major battle unfortunately. They’ve offered a last minute compromise which will avoid them becoming homeless. Since the eviction will cost between £8 million and £18 million to prosecute, they’ve offered to leave for £6 million. Their offer has been turned down flat but I digress…

The Green Party & the Labour Party on the other hand are arguing about a wide range of policies for Brighton & Hove. The Labour Party’s social justice policies are remarkably similar to the Green Party but on the council they’ve been voting with the thieving Tory bastards whenever they can. Why? You’d have to ask them, it’s beyond me.

Phelim (left) Mac Cafferty sporting an unusual metal hat

Recognising that there are limits on the City Council’s powers, Green Party activists have been out campaigning on fronts over which they have no political control. They led protests this week at Brighton, Hove and Preston Park train stations early in the morning. The issue was the planned increase in rail fares. Another one! The average proposed rise is 8%. Brighton Pavilion Green Party MP Caroline Lucas was interviewed on television and even the Evening Anus paused in its support for the thieving Tory bastard’s racist campaign, to report the protests.

Pete West's famously quiet voice has been heard

The Green cabinet on Brighton & Hove Council has decided to bring the estate management of the Downland owned by the Council around Brighton & Hove back in house. There is a debate about whether this will cost more money or save money. Brighton’s first Green councillor is now the cabinet member for environment and sustainability. He justified the decision on the grounds that the council could build a stronger relationship with farmers and generate a new income, although I’m unclear where this new income will come from.

The ground floor of the Council buildings at Bartholomew House, Bartholomew Square have been refurbished to provide a modern customer service centre. Can’t bear the way in which our culture has converted citizens into customers but there it is. I guess if it was called a citizens’ care centre, it would appear to mean something else. State of the art customer care facilities have been introduced, including meeters and greeters. It features energy saving measures in heating and lighting as well as low maintenance finishes, is also designed to be flexible to adapt to future changes.

Caroline Lucas MP opened a eco-retrofit home in Lover’s Walk, near Preston Park on Monday 5th September. An eco-retrofit is a simple idea: take an old draughty house and do it up with energy conservation in mind. The Nook in Lover’s Walk, which has six tenants, is part of a national pilot project launched by the Technology Strategy Board, to improve energy efficiency in social housing across the UK. With Lewes architects BBM Sustainable Design on board, the work carried out to the property could reduce the house’s annual heating bills from £1450 to £750. There is super insulation on all external walls, treble glazed windows and a ventilation unit which redirects warm air from the kitchen and bathrooms to other parts of the house. These features, together with roof solar panels and a high efficiency gas boiler, give this old property a more sustainable future. The Energy Saving Trust will monitor the property for two years. If it is deemed a success, the redesign techniques will be rolled out across the country. The upgrade was overseen and built by the Brighton company Earthwise Construction, taking seven months to complete and costing £142,000. You can arrange a tour of the house through Eco Open House but you’ll have to be fast – tours are limited to the next four days!

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Posted in Brighton, Caroline Lucas, Eco-Retrofit, Green Party, Labour Party, Liberal Traitors, Pete West, Politics, Politics in the Cave, Protests, Racism, Thieving Tory Bastards, Travellers

Racist campaign led by Brighton & Hove Conservative Party

Posted on 10 August 2011 | 3 Comments

The thieving Tory bastards in Brighton & Hove have established a racist campaign against travellers, following the most recent local elections. Their leading members have persistently cited the travellers as an issue in their conversations with the press. Letters have been written, provocative remarks made. Our local rag, the Evening Anus, has dutifully reported this stance but done nothing by the way of fact checking. Official figures reveal the number of travellers living in and around Brighton & Hove this year to be consistent with the figures for the last decade or so. That fact combined with the thieving Tory bastards’ record during their administration, the one ended at the most recent local elections, undermines any cogency which this political point could collect. It simply isn’t good enough to be silent on an issue but then attack viciously when a party wins power and creates a policy for the matter. The attacks have been vicious. This type of political campaigning is racist. It whips up popular sentiment without a purpose. Inevitably, Brighton & Hove City Council has seen an increase in the amount of racist abuse in calls and emails relating to travellers. The thieving Tory bastards must distance themselves publicly and conspicuously from this racist campaign. Shame on them, for what they have done.

Here is a press release by Pete West, who has the grand title these days of Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability in Brighton & Hove City Council but locally is fondly known as our first Green Party Councillor.

Gypsies, Roma and Travellers – the new firm but fair approach

Gypsies, Roma and Travellers have the right to pursue a nomadic way of life.

Like all public bodies, the council has responsibilities to the men, women and children within this community and these include important services such as health care and education.

Like all residents they are also subject to the same responsibilities, so if they behave in an anti-social way or commit a crime then the council or the police will take appropriate action. So as a council we aim to take a firm but fair approach

Brighton and Hove is a tourist destination that attracts many visitors including travellers especially in the summer as it has done for many years

The majority come and camp and enjoy the city and in some cases contribute to the local economy or carry out much needed services for residents

But of course like in any other community there is a minority that leave rubbish on sites or behaviour in an anti-social way or indeed there will be one or two that commit crime.

As a council, we have a duty and responsibility to local residents to ensure they are able to enjoy the city’s parks and open spaces. However at the same time we acknowledge that Gypsies and Travellers are an often marginalised group that suffer a high level of inequality, particularly around life expectancy, health and education issues. They also worryingly still face discrimination and racial hatred.

Until now no council administration had been able to find the right balance between the settled and travelling communities. So as part of our plan to improve our approach to the needs of both communities we are reviewing the council’s Travellers Strategy.

A key plank of this is to create a permanent travellers site – there is a need for this as many travellers live in the city year round. This process has been ongoing for some time but we want to speed this up. We are looking at a number of sites but no decision has yet been made.

We are also looking at ‘tolerated sites’ on less sensitive locations where travelling communities might be allowed to stay for short period of times. This will help reduce the costly and disruptive cycle where travellers move from site to site in what has become a cat and mouse game with the authorities.

The Gypsy and Traveller community are often criticised for anti-social behaviour. One of the proposals in our strategy is for travelling communities entering the city to sign up to Good Neighbour Compacts.

We are still in talks with Sussex Police about how the proposals can be implemented but compacts are already used widely in social housing to good effect and we would hope that most Travellers will sign up.

We are not expecting compacts to solve all the problems but we believe they will help.

Our aim is to ensure Gypsies and Travellers are treated with the same respect and consideration as members of any other community. By the same token, we expect all communities nomadic or otherwise to respect our parks and open spaces and to treat other people with respect and dignity and not to engage in anti-social behaviour.

In the meantime, there are some key questions that should be answered.

Are there more Travellers in the city now than previously?

No, in fact there are less than last year with 41 caravans in unauthorised encampments in January compared with 47 in January 2010. The official count takes place later this month but as of 11 July we had with 51 caravans compared with 52 caravans last year.

In which case why does it appear that there are so many more Travellers in the city?

There has been a great number of small Traveller encampments recently, many occupying sensitive locations such a public parks.  This has meant that the encampments during the recent period from April – July 2011 have had a greater impact upon the settled community.

As result, the council has taken swift action to move these Travellers, which has resulted in a merry-go round and the sense that there are a lot of Travellers in the city.

Why is it taking so long for the council to evict the Travellers?

The council has been acting more quickly than ever before to evict Travellers when they occupy unsuitable sensitive locations.

During the period from April to June of this year, the average length of time that is has taken to move-on an encampment has been 11 days.

Last year it was taking 24 days to move on an encampment.

What is the council doing about illegal fly-tipping?

The council does not tolerate illegal fly-tipping from either the settled or travelling communities.

A small minority of travellers have visited the city recently for economic reasons and then fly-tipped their green waste and construction waste. In one successful recent case a vehicle was seized and enforcement action taken against the owner

It is also important to note that sometimes Traveller encampments are used as fly-tipping sites by non-travellers knowing that Travellers will get the blame. Residents are responsible for ensuring they use a licensed waste disposal contractor otherwise it may be their waste polluting parks and countryside.

We are also looking at site protection, which can be expensive, controversial and not necessarily effective.

Is this new policy costing local taxpayers more money?

No.

We appreciate the difficulties that arise from some traveller encampments, and this can lead to worrying tensions.  But we are acting to improve the situation for all, and hope others will join us in talking a calm and constructive approach.

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Posted in Brighton, Green Party, Homelessness, Hove, Pete West, Politics, Politics in the Cave, Racism, Thieving Tory Bastards

Brighton & Hove’s Green MP and councillors hit the national headlines again and again, begging the question: what have the Labour Party or the thieving Tory bastards ever done for us?

Posted on 4 July 2011 | Leave a comment

The First Green Councillor In The Country - Pete West

Councillor Pete West, Green cabinet member for environment and sustainability, wrote a letter to the Evening Anus this week in which he demolished the thieving Tory bastards’ attack on the new council policy on travellers. As mentioned here last week, they have launched a scare-mongering campaign upon the created premise that this problem is suddenly getting worse. Pete West’s letter highlights the errors upon which the attack is predicated:

  • Traveller numbers are this year consistent with previous years.
  • The thieving Tory bastards did nothing about the travellers whilst they controlled the council.
  • In Westminster Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, signed a motion on gypsy and traveller evictions which had cross-party support, including from the thieving Tory bastard Peter Bottomley, the MP for Worthing West.
  • After only a month of this first Green administration, considerable efforts are being made to find suitable permanent sites for short term stays.
  • “Good Neighbour Compacts” are being developed in partnership with Sussex Police and traveller representative groups to address anti-social behaviour and community cohesion. This is an entirely new approach in the City.

Councillors Bill Randall, Amy Kennedy and Ian Davey spoke at a Chamber of Commerce event and were well-received. Thursday 30th June saw the biggest coordinated strikes for many many years. Councillors Phelim Mac Cafferty, Liz Wakefield and Rob Jarrett demonstrated their unequivocal support for the strikers by visiting picket lines at BHASVIC, City College, University of Brighton (the Grand Parade site) and a Job Centre. They also took part in the protest march from The Level to Hove Town Hall. Rob Jarrett also visited council care homes for children with learning disabilities and found the level of care provided very good indeed.

The Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, Bill Randall, has been involved in the Local Enterprise Partnership, Strategic Housing Partnership and meeting with police representatives. He addressed council staff members at a number of forums and meetings, attended the event after the regiment parade, spoke at the opening of the city sports Take Part festival. Over the last few weeks, Councillor Pete West has gone out on a number of rounds with bin collectors, recycling collectors and street-sweepers to get to know the issues faced by frontline workers.

Without going through all the detail, the Green councillors have

  • supported National Breastfeeding Week
  • supported the expansion of the ‘Cumulative Impact Area’, regulating the number of alcohol licensed venues in the city area
  • supported road safety at City College and working with the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership
  • chaired Housing Area Panels, the tenant participation forum for different parts of the city
  • worked to resolve issues of parking on pavements in Elm Grove
  • met with a local homeless charity and a social enterprise to discuss ways of working together
  • been briefed on Overview & Scrutiny, Community Safety, Intelligent Commissioning and Audit work at the council
  • held ward surgeries and met with residents to discuss casework
  • opposed the introduction of horse-drawn carriages on the seafront

Our local Green MP, Caroline Lucas, asked the Foreign Secretary to support the Freedom Flotilla of boats sailing to Gaza, breaking the siege with deliveries of mail and humanitarian supplies. She also handed in a petition to Downing Street that called on the Prime Minister to cancel the UK’s unilateral plans to build further nuclear weapons as a follow-on for Trident and to provide constructive leadership internationally to ban nuclear weapons and agree a timetable for their total elimination. She spoke at an event to promote solar power, at the Environment Society’s annual reception and obtained national coverage for her work on drugs policy reform in The Observer on 26th June. Caroline Lucas also supported the public servants strike action on 30th June, tabling a so-called Early Day Motion (a procedural device in parliament to create a debate) in support of fair pensions and strike action. Nearly a hundred local teachers wrote to her to explain why they were striking. She spoke at rallies in Brighton on 30th June. She’s been lobbied about plans to restrict internet use for those suspected of illegally downloading files (she has signed an Early Day Motion about this) and about an amendment to the Finance Bill to end legal loan sharking, which she supports. Her mail bag has also been full again with complaints about travellers in the city. She spoke this week at the Compass annual conference and on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury! Don’t recall David Lepper or any of the other local MPs working so hard or getting so much attention.

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Posted in Amy Kennedy, Bill Randall, Brighton, Caroline Lucas, Green Party, Ian Davy, Labour Party, Liz Wakefield, Pete West, Phelim Mac Cafferty, Politics, Politics in the Cave, Rob Jarrett, Thieving Tory Bastards, Travellers