I’m sure we all welcomed the news announced by the government last week regarding a route out of lockdown.
The vaccine rollout is going well thanks to the hard work of the NHS, key workers and volunteers.
As long as we remain vigilant in driving down covid-19 transmission, seeing friends and family by the summer is now a real possibility.
With the talk of lockdown coming to an end, thoughts turn towards recovery and the kind of city and society we want to live in post-covid.
Labour is calling for the council to lead on efforts to “Build Back Better”.
Build Back Better is a national campaign that calls for coronavirus recovery plans to be based on a set of progressive principles.
They include protecting public services, rebuilding society with a transformative Green New Deal, investing in people over big corporations, securing the health and needs of everyone and ensuring our recovery leaves no one behind.
As we start to recover from the pandemic, we have the chance to create a safer, fairer, cleaner, greener and more sustainable city. A city with new, green jobs that could be crucial for a sustainable economic recovery. A place in which everyone can make a living and enjoy life without facing discrimination. A place where people can afford to find a home, that celebrates the importance of nature and culture and understands the need to face up to the urgency of our climate crisis.
Our city needs a coronavirus recovery plan that doesn’t just attempt to return us to “normality” but a recovery plan that actually builds back better. A plan that protects public services, tackles inequality, provides secure well-paid jobs, improves quality of life and creates a more resilient economy which can combat the climate emergency.
That’s why I’ve called on the administration to support the Build Back Better campaign. I’ve asked them to join me in writing to the government calling for policy changes to support a national Build Back Better plan and to set up an online hub where people across the city can feed in their recovery ideas.
I want to hear your views about how we recover from this pandemic. We need a city-wide debate on how Brighton and Hove can Build Back Better – and we will all have a role to play in shaping a post-pandemic future for the city.
Councillor Nancy Platts is the leader of the Labour opposition on Brighton and Hove City Council.
Lovely Cllr Platts but before we build back better could you perhaps do what an opposition is supposed to do and hold the administration to task over the fraudulent A270 cycle lane figures – it’s an open goal and yet we have not heard a peep out of Labour…we are all waiting as Labour supporters.
I want to know why Labour isn’t running the council? Why Cllr Nancy Platts has given up. States want to change – but doesn’t want to lead the council to deliver it. Labour got the most seats at the last election but lost power when it removed some of its councillors due to antisemitism allegations. This was months ago. So why haven’t they been investigated, cleared or found guilty? And, if the latter, persuaded to stand aside so that a by-election could restore Labour back to leadership.
It’s OK calling for things. But when you have the power to deliver that but choose not to then it’s all just meaningless. So, Cllr Platts, step up or stand aside
Nancy.. let’s build back better.
First we can get rid of all the less than useless Momentum councillors who are only interested in trotting out their tired dogma and not trying to represent what the taxpayers want. Or are you still subscribing to the Green Momentum pact?
Time for you to choose….
Could Labour actually be an opposition instead of curtailing to every Green demand. C’mon Cllr Platts take them to task over the OSR cycle lane BACK your own councilors in North and South Portslade be a politician not a patsy.
The best way to ‘build back better’ would be to have a council not run by immature, irresponsible and utterly useless councillors.
Send them to Harvey’s to orgainise a party and they’d probably end up debating the world’s nuclear arsenal and how it shoul dbe scrapped.
Absolutely atrocious council.
“A place in which everyone can make a living and enjoy life without facing discrimination.”There isn’t much diversity in your party, is there?
Just bring in early voting to get rid of the Green Goons and Labour Loons.
Brighton has had enough of the amateur children and their cycle lanes.
We need adults, any adults, to run the city.
Yes, enough of students’union politics. By elections soon you know what to do.
An unequal society is one that is less resilient to a virus. A FPTP voting system is undemocratic. Thatcher is dead (hurray) and so is her pox, neoliberalism so now is the time to invest in the future by making sure the wealthiest individuals and their megacorporation’s are held to fiscal account and privacy concerns are secured for private individual’s and our climate damage is taxed out of existence, before we are!
Thank you Caroline Lucas 😉
Well, she could make a start by getting rid of one of the pointless cycle lanes along the seafront, preferably the one that is taking up such a huge part of the road, causing very slow moving traffic and thus causing more pollution. Why are there still two cycle lanes running parallel, when either one of then is hardly used, since so many cyclists still prefer to ride on the pavement? During the lockdown many people have taken their exercise by walking along the seafront, only to find that, in spite of plenty of signs stating “No cycling”, cyclists are arrogantly breaking the law, while making it an unpleasant experience for pedestrians. And, of course, there are never any police around to do anything about it.
She could make a start by getting rid of the beggars that are pestering people all over the place. And she could make a start by doing something about the terrible graffiti that is turning the city into a hideous dump.
You’re right, the pollution along the sea front is very bad, we should probably get rid of motor traffic along there altogether! What idiotic kind of city would put a four-lane dual carriageway on top of its major tourist attraction anyway.
Imogen – last time I looked Worthing, Eastbourne, Bexhill, St Leonards and Hastings all have a major road running along the seafront. Difference is they don’r try and block them with a second, unnecessary, cycle lane when there is already a perfectly adequate one in place. Also you seem to suggest that a road that has existed for centuries is some kind of recent addition…
Link in article is wrong I think – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/build-back-better-our-plan-for-growth