With by-elections looming, people living in Hollingdean, Coldean, North Moulsecoomb, Stanmer, Hollingbury, Stanmer Heights and Patcham face a tricky choice.
A local Labour party that retains a strong Momentum influence and was forced to hand back the reins of power last summer after an anti-semitism scandal.
Green councillors who pursue “grand designs” with an arrogance that they are intuitively always right: just look at the “temporary” cycle lanes.
Or Conservatives who have found themselves sidelined and with their positive ideas almost perpetually opposed locally by Labour and the Greens – and affected by events at national level at Westminster.
Anyone who has observed a council meeting knows all too well why the city is in such a rut.
Whether you think of yourself as Green, Labour or Conservative – or, like myself and a very large number of the silent majority, “none of the above” – you will see decisions uniformly debated and agreed along strictly tribal lines (just watch the recent full council debate on nuclear weapons).
You would also find yourself sitting through a succession of carefully pre-written statements that toe the party line but hardly inspire confidence.
The bottom line: the first priority of political councillors is to further the agenda and policies of their own party which unsurprisingly involves an inordinate amount of time consulting with that party and being adversarial to the opposing parties.
The result is that the best interests of the people of Brighton and Hove suffer. In some cases, we serve as no more than guinea pigs for pet projects. For example, the recent announcement of a £350,000 project to create “pocket parks” in Hanover.
As I approach the mid-way point of my four-year term as a councillor, I am now more convinced than ever that the only way to serve the genuine needs of this city and its people is to elect more independent councillors: people with no agenda other than to do the right thing for their neighbours and the city on a case-by-case basis.
So, as the only Brighton and Hove councillor elected on an independent ticket (and who has never been a member of a political party) I’m now asking …
If you are reading this and feel that you could contribute, why not stand up and contest one of the upcoming two by-elections for new councillors?
It might be less of a stretch than you think. Councillor Tracey Hill, the Labour councillor who is standing down, topped the poll in Hollingdean and Stanmer at the 2019 elections with just 1,664 votes, while Lee Wares, the Conservative councillor who is standing down in Patcham, gained 2,618 votes.
It really is possible for an independent with a record of doing good in their community to get elected – after all, I did!
The basic salary for a councillor is £13,360 a year. I juggle a day job with my council work and have traded other hobbies, TV watching and spare time for the immense satisfaction of working with friends and neighbours to try and make our city a better place.
More information about standing to be a councillor can be found here.
In a nutshell, you must be 18 or over and either live, work or have owned property in the city for the past 12 months.
If you’re interested, then please feel free to contact me at bridget@bridgetbythesea.com and I’ll be happy to brief you on what the role entails and how to navigate the electoral process.
Our city needs you.
Bridget Fishleigh is the only elected independent councillor in Brighton and Hove. She represents the Rottingdean Coastal ward which stretches from Sussex Square to West Saltdean. She has never been a member of a political party.
There isn’t a by-election in North Moulsecoomb as it falls under the Moulsecoomb and Bevendean ward.
Unless Cllr Kate Knight, originally voted in as a Labour candidate, does the right thing and resigns her seat.
What a great article. Brighton & Hove has such a strong sense of community and belonging I believe the more independent councillors we can have the better. Having no political agenda really does benefit the city. I can only base my opinion on first-hand experience of Councillor Fishleigh that she really does have local residents issues at heart. She’s helped run a food bank during COVID as well as delivering meals to people in need. She has proactively arranged litter picks, is always on the case with the miserable lack of bin collections and so much more. Her newsletters keep us informed with what’s going on in the city as Saltdean is often forgotten but not with her representing us.
We are so fortunate to have a local independent councillor so I’d encourage people who can to stand.
Thanks for commenting, Jenny. You can see the ward boundary for Hollingdean and Stanmer here including N Moulsecoomb and Coldean:
https://ww3.brighton-hove.gov.uk/sites/brighton-hove.gov.uk/files/Hollingdean___Stanmer_ward.pdf
Having had some dealings with Cllr Fishleigh, (although I do not live in her ward), I have too say I have been impressed. Looking at the recent OSR cycle lane fiasco where local Labour Portslade Councilors have actually been gagged by the party you can see party politics failing. It would help if we had a proper opposition but we don’t even get that to critically challenge the administration.I think more independents could certainly be the way forward where politicians put the ward and the city first not party line and political Dogma.
Come on, let’s be honest, councillor Fishleigh is a Tory by any other name. Voting for councillors with no clear policies, unaccountable to anyone but themselves? You could be voting for anything! Even the monster raving loonies have a manifesto by which you can judge what your voting for! The fact that a councillors basic salaey is low paves the way for the idle rich (property magnates, retired cons, minor aristocracy?) to grease the wheels of local democracy in favour of their own interests and those of their friends. A slippery slope.
A refreshing article from Bridget.
Then of course we get a typical leftie comment from Arthur.
Being a councillor is not a full time job, read the article.
You have your full time job and do this on top. Public service.
I know you are a rights with no responsibility kind of guy, but others juggle it, yet Arthur wants to be a professional politician.
That is why you cannot see the appeal of independence.
Drop the tribal tropes Arthur and realise there is a world others have around the country and very successfully.
Independent councillors can be imagined as Tory, Labour or Green by any other name I guess (or none of these) but the point is that they are unshackled from the strictures of party politics. Moreover, they leave their ideological positions at home and appeal to the electorate precisely because they dedicate efforts primarily to the constituency and it needs. The party-tribe councillors say they do this too but, depressingly, this is less and less the case (constituents come last). Once significant numbers of Indies start to form they need to thrash out manifesto’s of course but until then we need more people like Cllr Fishleigh to model what it is to be independent of party. #FlatpackDemocracy
Well perhaps it takes someone on the “outside” to see through the nonsensensical dogma and policies being carried out by the present Green/Labour council, and to be free to criticise them.
Great article, party politics just not working in Brighton and Hove any more, especially when they import people who have no idea of the city, but have the same ideologies.
Good luck Bridget. You make more sense than all the present councillors put together. I wish there were more like you here. Brighton and Hove would be a much happier place to live in.
Great article. I wish all councillors could be independent and directly accountable to the electorate in their wards rather than being controlled by political whips and extremist groups such as Momentum.
Do Phelim and Nancy actually add anything of value to the city – other than promoting their own political careers?
If I was younger, healthier, and be more of a “people person” I would love to stand.
As it is I would not “suffer fools gladly” and would probably soon be expelled – especially with all the scientifically and economically scandalous wastes of money taking place in the name of a local “climate emergency”.
Do we really need the council wasting time on national issues such as Britain’s nuclear deterrent (but this is yet another Green obsession like cycling)?
My view is that local councils and councillors should be non political. Then they would collectively have more interest in getting the job done.
Blind party loyalties and national political dogma result in tribal local politics that do not serve local communities. Independent voices are needed, working together without painful adherence to political doctrine who truly put the city and its people first without party influence or coercion.
But how can “independent” councillors be “working together”? They might well have different views from one another. Cllr Fishleigh is, I think, the only councillor elected as an Independent – distinct from a Councillor falling out with a Party of one hue or another, and going independent. The classic case of this was the LibDems being reduced to two Councillors, with which Paul Elgood sacked David Watkins, who then stood as an Independent and did not get back in (nor did cllr Elgood), all of which seems a distant memory. Life moves on.
It’s very easy to work together Christopher.
Get everyone to debate what is best for the city, and have those councillors directly accountable to the electorate.
Not have arrogant ignorant righteous empathy-challenged Greens telling everyone what they should do, implementing ideologically inspired schemes that don’t work, and just causing divisions between residents.
I do not see how your notion of delegates works in practice. Councillors are elected to give their time to contemplating matters. Do we really want a planet determined by the Argus readers’comments?
Absolutely brilliant article Bridget!
Party politics has ruined what was once a great city, Labour & Greens have a lot to answer for & with no opposition, they can & are getting away with everything.
Talking to local residents in my area, they also share my views regarding our current council & lack of opposition too & many are taking the plunge by voting Conservative.
I am erring on any independent that has our local interests at heart & won’t have conflict of interests.
Without proper opposition I will be doing a ‘Boris’ & lending my vote to the Conservatives – we need Lab/Green to be held to account
Is this another councillor who supports bike lanes except this one and the last one and the next one?
Tell the truth Bridget you have always been a green supporter and voted with the greens and momentum labour. This is the new green tactic sneak in and make out your independent in wards where labour and conservative are sitting councillors.
Don’t be fooled. Are you saying there will be 54 independent views to run the council. How ridiculous! Everyone has a political view.