Tim Ridgway column: After elections it is time to finally work together

In a few moments on Friday afternoon, President Barack Obama was replaced by President Donald Trump.

Not only do they represent different parties and come from different places but the words coming out of their mouths were poles apart.

One made it very clear he wanted to unite, to make friends, to be a part of something; the other was talking of being an individual, of withdrawing, of literally building walls.

Publicly President Obama put on a brave face, making small talk with his successor and making light of the whole process to put his successor at ease with the pomp and ceremony.

But when the door closed on the helicopter which carried him off into post-White House life, you can only imagine the comments he made to his wife Michelle.

President Trump on the other hand sat down to a slap-up meal of imported Angus beef, cooking up ways in which he can make America great again while cutting it off from the rest of the world.

Across the pond in our little enclave of liberalism on the South Coast, some in Brighton and Hove had their say.

Many took to social media to air their views, others hung a banner outside Brighton Station which stated “build bridges, not walls”.

Personally, listening to the isolationism talk from the son of a Scottish emigrant, I thought back to the aftermath of the last UK general election.

There were far fewer over-the-top displays of patriotism, practically no air kisses and barely any constant utterings of “thank you, thank you”.

But The vote back then also led to an unexpected result.

For days afterwards, the mood in the city was one of shock; some even broke down in tears.

Not only had the Conservatives formed a majority government, but, aside from in Scotland, the left-leaning parties had performed particularly badly.

In the entire South East region, Brighton and Hove residents were the only ones to elect non-Tory MPs, meaning the election map showed a green and red speck in a sea of blue.

What followed was a grassroots campaign for the foundation of the People’s Republic of Brighton and Hove. The suggestion was, partly, in jest. Within days, thousands had joined the campaign. The creation of a flag followed, and soon people were frothing at the mouth to declare “Vive la Revolution!”

There was a demand for the city to follow the route of the residents of Pimlico, who in the famous Ealing comedy declared independence from the rest of the UK in a bid to escape the rationing of war.

The hysteria was all a bit too much for some, particularly the one-third of Brighton and Hove’s population who voted for the party of government.

Thankfully, the spirit of Pimlico faded – and we all went back to being normal again, working together for the greater good of the city and wider country.

There continues to be exceptions – particularly in the city council’s town hall, where members of each of the three parties often talk of collaboration, but then put grandstanding ahead of consensus.

With local authority budget D-day looming again, no doubt discussions are already taking place between leaders of Labour, Conservative and Greens to make sure that they all come out of the process smelling of roses. At times, it seems the aim is to settle old scores and then retreat to discuss the fallout with the same old small number of familiar faces.

But putting party and political literature ahead of doing the right thing for the majority is no different to building a Trumped-up wall.

The coming into office of President Trump marks a landmark moment for the world.

The policies and the tweets from the world’s most powerful person will create ripples into all of our lives.

But if the election of The Donald does one thing, maybe it should remind us that to make Brighton and Hove even greater, we should work together, rather than cut ourselves off from the wider world.

Bill Davis finally tasted victory with Ayr Of Elegance at Lingfield.  Picture: Nigel Gray

Talking about outside bets, I was delighted to see the story of hapless Bill Davis, the horse owner who finally recorded his first victory after more than a quarter of a century in the game.

Despite breeding 16 horses, the 87-year-old from Storrington had failed to record a single winner.

That was until Ayr of Elegance romped home at Lingfield last week.

Bill’s story teaches us two things.

Primarily, that if at first you don’t succeed try and try again. But also that even with dozens of lucky horseshoes, gambling is a fool’s game...