Green activists have been criticised for driving more than 100 miles for a campaign day.

Labour candidates slammed Bristol Green councillor Patrick McAllister, who travelled some 166 miles along the M4 and M23 to campaign for Brighton and Hove’s Young Green candidates for the local elections at the weekend.

Cllr McAllister tweeted that he was stuck in a traffic jam on the M23 while heading to the city, but said it was “worth it to get to the Young Green action day”.

Several Labour candidates running in Brighton and Hove were incensed by the move.

Leslie Pumm, Labour candidate for Westbourne and Poets’ Corner, said their activists had travelled by train for the party’s campaign day.

He said: “It’s clear - Labour is the only party serious about the environment.”

The Argus:

Julie Cattell, who is also standing in Westbourne and Poets’ Corner for Labour, questioned why the activists did not travel by train.

“Driving to Brighton on a Saturday even in late March is madness, and unsustainable,” she said.

The chairwoman of Brighton and Hove’s Young Labour group, Lundy Mackenzie, said they worked with members from London and surrounding areas rather than encouraging activists from significantly further away to support their campaign.

Ms Mackenzie, who is standing as a candidate in Westdene and Hove Park, said: “They are acting as if they had to canvass in Brighton - they didn’t.”

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Some Labour candidates also noted how the Green leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Phelim Mac Cafferty, took a flight to a climate conference in 2021.

The leader of the Bristol Green group Emma Edwards sought to defend the decision on Twitter and said a return train between the two cities would have cost more than £80.

She also noted that, due to engineering works, a rail replacement bus service was in place, which would have made the trip even longer.

She said: “It would have taken too long and car-pooling in a pretty fuel-efficient car was the logical next best thing.”

Bristol Green Party and Cllr McAllister were both contacted for comment.

Voters will go to the polls across Brighton and Hove on May 4 to elect 54 councillors to represent them for the next four years.