David Maples, Brighton Socialist Party
Thursday 26 February was a busy night for the Green Party. At one end of the country, they were humiliating Labour in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
But, in their established base in Brighton it was the council’s budget meeting. The Green Party has twice run Brighton council. When Brighton Green council tried to cut bin workers’ pay by thousands of pounds, it provoked strike action by council unions.
Brighton does not have elections this year. But the Green Party has high hopes of winning control again next year.
The Green Party finance spokesperson, councillor Ollie Sykes, made an extraordinary speech. Since 2010 Brighton has lost over £100 million in funding from central government. So did he call for this money to be restored?
No. Instead, he said: “Fair funding review 2.0 seems to have been fairer to Green-run Bristol, than Labour-run Brighton. We were promised that a Labour council with a Labour government would help the city thrive.
“Notwithstanding this, Bristol City Council also has to make significant savings. I’ve been told that after the Greens took over there, the achievements of savings in-year rose from 65% under Labour to 85% under Greens.
“Here in Brighton and Hove, Labour’s in-year savings achievement is currently running at about 65%. Roll on May 2027.”
So the Greens are bragging about making deeper cuts than Labour.
Brighton and Hove Unison and the Trades Union Council lobbied the council, calling for a needs-based no-cuts budget. The lobby heard impassioned speeches, particularly regarding the proposed closure of Wellington House, the last remaining day centre for adults with learning disabilities. We are supporting staff and relatives to campaign to save this service.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski recently spoke to 1,500 people in Brighton. We couldn’t afford the £26.25 admission price. But, outside, we received a good response to the petition calling on him to instruct his Green councillors to vote against cuts.
We will work with anybody who will consistently vote against cuts. But it looks as though that will need to be trade unionists and service users standing themselves as socialist, working-class, anti-austerity candidates.
