Regular readers of this column will know it is not often I praise a Labour politician. Not these days anyway, writes Councillor Steve Davis.

Back in those halcyon days of…when was it? Oh yes, 2023 when the Green-led minority administration would often work collaboratively with colleagues from across the town hall chamber in the best interests of local people, I appreciated their commitment to this city and their willingness to work together. We didn’t agree on everything, but there was often much to praise.

Recently? Not so much.

So, it may come as some surprise then that there is one Labour politician who I believe deserves some credit. At least more than he currently receives from within his own party.

Brighton and Hove is now my home and has been for many years. It is where my son was born and is a community I am proud to be part of. But London is where I am from and like most people who leave their hometown or city for pastures new, I do try and keep up to date with what’s going on there.

I was, therefore, interested to read recently that a report produced by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Transport for London (TfL) showed roadside pollution was falling at a faster rate in the capital than in any other city in the UK.

The research found roadside levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) fell by nearly 50 per cent between 2016 and 2023. The last 12 months even recorded levels lower than during lockdown. The number of air quality monitoring sites in London recording NO2 levels beyond the current limit in the UK also fell – from 56 in 2016 to just five last year.

But what has this got to do with Labour? Well, the report also concluded that much of the improvements have been because of the city’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ), launched in 2019 and since expanded, first in 2021 and then again to include all remaining boroughs in 2023.

Other facts were highlighted as having played a part in London’s vast improvements, including the roll-out of more electric or hybrid buses and a general shift towards less-polluting cars being used by motorists, but the capital’s ULEZ was considered the main factor.

So, credit where it is due. London Mayor Sadiq Khan resisted demands from Sir Keir Starmer to scrap the latest ULEZ expansion amid concerns from the Labour Party that it would cost them by-election votes. That decision has now been vindicated by improved air quality. He also withdrew his previous support for Ecodesign wood-burning stoves, which are labelled as environmentally friendly, but which campaigners say make a significant contribution to high levels of harmful PM2.5 pollution which is linked to a string of serious health conditions.

Not that his eco-credentials are entirely impeccable. Doctors in London have asked him to cancel a high-profile building project which will link Greenwich and Newham via a tunnel under The Thames, but which is feared will lead to an increase in pollution which will disproportionately affect some of the capital’s poorest people. Classic Labour – they give with one hand, take away with another.

Still, there is something Labour’s local leadership could learn from the London mayor. And that is to have the strength in their convictions to see manifesto pledges through to fruition.

Prior to the last council election, for example, Labour’s local manifesto promised that, if elected, Labour would “work to bring an end to noisy and polluting diesel vehicles” and “explore the merits of a car-free city centre”.

At the time I remember thinking how this contradicted with their opposition to a planned low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) proposed for Hanover and Tarner – an opposition they made very clear to residents on the campaign trail. A manifesto promising to reduce cars in the city centre, but a local campaign which opposed an LTN. George Orwell had a word for that: doublethink, or the acceptance of contrary opinions or beliefs at the same time.

It didn’t surprise me then. It surprises me even less so now. Labour’s local leadership seems increasingly intent on using 1984 as a political instruction manual rather than a critique on totalitarianism. We’ve seen that recently with their obsession with moving to a leader and cabinet system.

But I do live in hope that Labour will soon announce progress on its election promises, particularly those relating to a car-free city centre – and before people rush to the comments section, yes, I do say that as a someone who makes their living as a driving instructor.

We’ve seen bold policy decisions working to improve air quality in London. The people of Brighton and Hove surely deserve the same. Maybe then I’ll find something nice to say about Labour again.

Cllr Steve Davis is the leader of the Greens on Brighton and Hove City Council