Labour not fit to run Brighton, council leader claims

As campaigning for the local elections gets underway, Brighton and Hove City Council leader Phelim Mac Cafferty has hit out at Labour and accused them of “populist antics” in the run-up to polling day.

In an exclusive interview with The Argus, he said that internal divisions over anti-Semitism that caused the party to lose control of the council in 2020 still remain.

“Anyone following the Labour Party nationally and locally knows that, while those divisions might not be so apparent today, they are still there,” Cllr Mac Cafferty said.

“The local Labour Party has had the selection of its candidates taken away from it, while our candidates are selected by our own peers across the city.

“That speaks of a party that is really divided and doesn’t know what it is to run a city.”

Cllr Mac Cafferty said the Green administration had 'done its best' to run the city amid a range of challenges

Cllr Mac Cafferty defended the Greens’ time in control of Brighton and Hove and said the party had “done its best” despite the challenges of Covid, rising inflation and the cost of living crisis.

• READ MORE: City faces 'challenging circumstances' as council prepares budget

He said: “We are united and have a fantastic team in place in May and we are rediscovering on the doorstep that our vote hasn’t gone away.

"People are still with us on the journey and want reliable hands behind the wheel and a team committed to social justice and the environment to continue to run Brighton and Hove.”

Cllr Mac Cafferty also took aim at Labour proposals to redivert money assigned for a planned “livable neighbourhood” in Hanover and Tarner to restore the city’s public toilets.

Plans to permanently close dozens of the city’s public toilets in the council budget have been reversed, with the Green-led administration pledging to keep as many toilets in key areas open as possible.

Green council leader Phelim Mac Cafferty said that Labour remains a divided party (Image: The Argus/LDR)

He accused Labour councillors and MP for Brighton Kemptown Lloyd Russell-Moyle of “populist antics” in the run-up to the city-wide elections in May, and pointed out that many other Labour-led councillors had implemented the scheme successfully.

Cllr Mac Cafferty said: “Even though we’ve already found the money, they would prefer to batter low-traffic neighbourhoods a few months before an election. I think it’s populist antics and I would question Labour’s commitment to the environment.

“We’ve already reversed the cut on public toilets and Labour voted for the low-traffic neighbourhood, so you have to ask what this is actually about - it’s not a genuine attempt to save public toilets.”

His comments come as fellow Green councillor Elaine Hills accused Labour of “cheap electioneering at the expense of safer, greener streets, cleaner air and tackling the climate crisis”.

In a post on Twitter, she said that “Tory-lite, pro-car Labour [have] trashed a scheme they previously supported under the guise of protecting a service we’re saving”.

Greens have placed 'dogma over data'

Labour councillor Bella Sankey slammed Cllr Mac Cafferty’s remarks and said residents in the city feel frustrated by the current leadership of the council.

She said: “We know from thousands of doorstep conversations that frustration with the Green administration has peaked - from saddling us with millions of pounds of debt on their i360 vanity project to their proposal to close and charge for public toilets - the Greens are clueless about how to run a city for the benefit of all.”

A spokesman for the Labour group slammed the Green Party’s approach to low-traffic neighbourhoods as putting “dogma over data, ideology over evidence, and vanity projects over basic services residents need”.

• READ MORE: Lifeguard numbers cut and seven other proposals in council's budget plan (full list here)

He said: “Perhaps Cllr Mac Cafferty should speak to some residents and ask them if they see the Greens as reliable hands on the wheel, because that’s certainly not what we’re hearing on the doorstep.

“This Green administration, just like the last time they ran the city, has been characterised by dogma, turbulence and upheaval.

“Bin strikes, vanity projects costing the city millions whilst basic services fall into ruin - that’s what the Green Party behind the wheel looks like for our residents, sadly.

“A Labour administration will listen to residents and put their priorities first - we will restore basic services, tackle the housing crisis head-on and support residents and local businesses through this cost of living crisis.”