Greens in full control of Hastings Borough Council

On Wednesday evening, while the nation was absorbing the news that the general election will be held on 4 July, in Hastings we were watching how the Green gains in the recent local elections played out in the organisation of the new council, in which both leadership positions as well as all Cabinet posts have been filled by Greens. Report by Nick Terdre, graphics by Russell Hall.

The first move in the annual meeting of the Full Council of Hastings Borough Council was to elect a new mayor. As Labour councillor Margi O’Callaghan stepped down to take up her new role as leader of the Labour group, long-standing and fellow Labour councillor and previous incumbent Judy Rogers was elected to take over, with new Labour councillor David Whitehill as deputy.

In both cases members of the Hastings Independents group were also proposed – Cllr Andy Batsford for mayor and Cllr Nigel Sinden for deputy – but were overwhelmingly defeated, in a rejection that was repeated several times during the session. It seems that the ex-Labour breakaways not only have no friends among Labour or Conservatives, but also now among the Greens.

The choice of council leader, who remains in the post until the annual meeting of Full Council in 2026, was straightforward, with the only nomination being Green councillor Julia Hilton, who took over the role in January after Cllr Paul Barnett resigned, having led the Hastings Independents’ secession from Labour in December.

That does not mean Hilton received widespread endorsement from other councillors — only fellow Greens voted for her, while the Hastings Independents voted against her en bloc (with the exception of Cllr Simon Willis, the only absentee of the night), and the Labour and Tory groups abstained.

Cabinet

Hilton announced that her deputy would again be Cllr Glenn Haffenden. She also announced the seven members of the Cabinet, all Greens, and their portfolios:

• Cllr Julia Hilton – Regeneration and Community Wealth Building;
• Cllr Darren Mackenzie – Finance, Assets, Risk and ICT;
• Cllr Adele Bates – Arts, Culture, Tourism and Leisure, Equalities and Community Engagement;
• Cllr Joanne Walker – Environment and Neighbourhood Wellbeing;
• Cllr Mark Etherington – Planning, Infrastructure and Active Travel;
• Cllr Glenn Haffenden – Housing and Community Wellbeing;
• Cllr Tony Collins – Foreshore Trust.

(A full table of councillors and Cabinet members with portfolio can be found below.)

It is a remarkable turnaround from last December, when there were no Greens in the Cabinet (the two appointed by the majority Labour group in May 2022 were removed the following October on orders from party HQ) to an all Green Cabinet only five months later.

It will also be a stern challenge for the party, given its relative inexperience – four of the members:  Mackenzie, Bates, Walker and Etherington – are rookie councillors now thrown in at the deep end of running a borough with plentiful problems. Will they be able, for example, to hold their own when they disagree with positions or proposals made by officers?

Elections were also held for the chairs of the major committees. These were won by Cllr Amanda Jobson of the Greens (licensing), O’Callaghan (overview and scrutiny),  Labour councillor Billie Barnes (planning) and Labour’s Danuta Kean (audit). Barnes and Kean are both rookies.

Voting pattern

Whenever a member of the Hastings Independents was also proposed, they lost, with the Greens voting en bloc against them. The Independents’ Mike Turner was voted in as vice-chair of licensing but their Simon Willis lost the vote for vice-chair of audit to the Tories’ Paul Foster, who enjoyed the support of the Greens.

Some of their members have however been appointed to other committee positions: Barnett as chair of the standards committee and Sinden as chair of environment and safety. Sinden also continues as armed forces champion.

Nevertheless there was a clear pattern in the night’s voting, in which Labour voted for Green nominations and the Greens for Labour’s. It has not escaped the attention of the Independents, who, in a later statement, referred to the Greens’ “informal deal with the Labour Party,” and criticised their decision to “form a minority administration, choosing not to work in partnership,” although the Independents said they had offered to do so.

At the suggestion of the new mayor, a minute’s silence was held in memory of former councillor and mayor Pam Brown, who died in March.

The first meeting of the new Cabinet is scheduled for Monday 10 June.

An account of the programme for the coming municipal year present by council leader Hilton will be published shortly in a separate article.

A video recording of the meeting can be seen here on the HBC website.

 

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