Voters punished Greens but Labour was just as much to blame – Brighton and Hove News

Most speeches in the council last three minutes – the length of a pop song. While political speeches are rarely as catchy, they are even more cliché-ridden. Worryingly, the applause is just as loud.

The new leader of the council, Councillor Bella Sankey, said recently: “This city runs through me like a stick of rock.” But there are already rumours she won’t stick around – she wants to be an MP, possibly in another city.

My refrain as the new leader of the Brighton and Hove Conservative group of councillors is that the local Conservative party is alive and well and focused on making the council work for residents.

I never expected the responsibility and honour of being leader but the recent local election has underscored how fast change can come. Labour was predicted to win but not by such a landslide.

The Green manifesto was a long suicide note – only promise what you know residents actually want, not simply what you as a party want. The Greens had stopped listening to the city’s residents.

But Labour is just as much to blame for the city’s state. With 29 new councillors, a leader of the council who herself only recently became a councillor and who feels being an MP would be more rewarding, how much understanding of the issues – and staying power – does the Labour party really have?

It was the Conservative election manifesto that set the election agenda across the city. We will stay focused on rubbish, recycling, weeds, poor council housing, safer streets, our urban fringe, restoring our heritage, improving access to council services and reviving local democracy.

Thank you to the more than 30,000 residents who voted Conservative. We will ensure you have a strong conservative voice that fights for what you believe in.

The election was difficult for Conservatives – true. Steve Bell, Dee Simson, Robert Nemeth, Dawn Barnett, Nick Lewry, Vanessa Brown, Gary Peltzer Dunn and Mary Mears – you are missed. But your contribution to this city will not be forgotten.

Brighton and Hove Conservatives have two new councillors – Councillor Emma Hogan and Councillor Ivan Lyons will bring new ideas and energy.

In Councillor Anne Meadows and Councillor Carol Theobald, we have two of the most experienced councillors in the council. Councillor Samer Bagaeen is an outspoken professor of town planning.

We will not shy away from controversy. The Conservative voice will be fresh, loud and clear.

Conservatives are proud to live in one of the best countries in the world. We are proud of our institutions. We are proud of our way of life. We will stand up for our beliefs.

That does not mean we don’t believe in change – but where Greens and Labour want radical change due to the “crises” they use to justify their top-down policies, we believe in calm, incremental change led by consultation and negotiation.

I fear Labour’s large majority will encourage them to believe they speak for everyone – but many of their wards were won by very small margins. And the key problem in the city is that the council just doesn’t work properly.

We see this in the Conservative wards of Patcham and Hollingbury, and Westdene and Hove Park.

They vote Conservative because, over the years of Labour and Green administrations, residents and councillors in these wards have been fighting policies which produced results more redolent of inner-city decline – poor rubbish collections, litter, graffiti, unkempt verges and parks and vandalism.

Residents know council departments don’t talk to each other – road sweepers go by, then the grass is cut. Rubbish isn’t collected because communal bins don’t have handles fitted.

Over 13 years, both Greens and Labour have undermined our council. Brighton and Hove City Council is the weaker for a working-from-home policy, making it all but impossible for residents to reach council officers.

While I welcome Labour’s removal of the countless working groups which instead of promoting discussion led to backroom deals, there are still supposedly independent “advisers” on committees who are actually political appointees.

The new Labour administration has also decided to control all the levers of power. Committee leads, including scrutiny ones, are Labour. The adult social care committee, with one of the highest budgets, will have four Labour councillors and one indistinguishable Green. And the mayor and deputy mayor will both be Labour.

Will this lead to a better-run council? We will know who to blame, but we are tired of blame.

In Patcham and Hollingbury, Conservatives are the only party fighting against the potential Royal Mail development in Vale Avenue.

This could lead to 24-hour HGV deliveries in a quiet suburban area, flooding in the historic Patcham Old Village and the contamination of the city’s water supply.

Will Labour halt this development which many Green and Labour voters also do not want? It will test whether Labour do actually listen to residents or only listen to their own speeches.

Councillor Alistair McNair is the leader of the Conservatives on Brighton and Hove City Council.