Local politics revives with messages from Greens and Labour

Parliament has reassembled after the summer recess and Hastings’ own political parties are also coming back to life after a quiet period. Both the local Greens and Labour have issued messages for the local electorate, as HOT’s Chris Connelley reports.

It’s autumn and the kids are back at school.

The grown-ups in Parliament have also returned, as the new political season gets underway.

That sense of back-to-business is apparent here in Hastings too as the town’s major parties gear up for the upcoming budget setting season and important county council elections next May.

Over the last few days, the Greens and Labour have both emerged from the silence of the summer recess with public messages.

First out of the traps were the Greens, who issued a public letter to our newly elected Labour MP, Helena Dollimore, calling on her to “stand up to the Prime Minister on behalf of the people of Hastings and Rye.”

The letter goes on to suggest  that,  whilst “we were constantly told to vote for ‘change’ at this election… Keir Starmer is now focusing on starting austerity 2.0”.

Picking up on the government’s recent identification of a further £22bn ‘black hole’ in public finances, the Greens contend that “this is likely to result in further cuts to local government finances already slashed to the bone by fourteen years of non-stop funding cuts, followed by a housing crisis, which means Hastings council, despite huge efforts to stabilise homeless numbers, is still spending over £6.5m a year on temporary accommodation”.

They continue, “Thousands of pensioners will be hit with ever increasing energy bills and the scrapping of the Winter Fuel Allowance for all but the poorest pensioners. In addition, families with more than two children are still facing the heartless two-child cap on child benefit”

The letter, signed by Hastings Green Party chair, Justin Wynne, Hastings Borough Council leader, Julia Hilton, and the party’s parliamentary candidate, Becca Horn, calls on Ms Dollimore to “stop just blaming the Conservatives for crashing the economy. These are political decisions taken by a Labour Party which refuses to tax those with the broadest shoulders. Inequality has rocketed over the past decade, with more wealth held by fewer and fewer people, leaving the rest behind, including many people in Hastings”.

In the recent general election, the Green Party proposed a wealth tax of 1% on assets over £10m that it claimed would have generated billions of pounds of additional funding for public services. “Labour’s refusal to consider this means everyone else will pay the price.”

Shadow cabinet

Labour’s statement, by contrast, focuses on the local council, and holding its Green-led minority administration, to account. It announces a new shadow cabinet, involving all nine Labour councillors, as well as a new portfolio focused on poverty reduction.

In its press release, Cllr  Margi O’Callaghan, leader of the Labour Group on Hastings Borough Council, declares that “the Greens have shown an utter lack of commitment to tackling the growing problem of poverty in Hastings, and families in need are overlooked”.

She goes on to promise that “Hastings Labour Group will do better for local residents” and announces that “I have created a portfolio specifically focused on tackling poverty to ensure struggling families are not forgotten.”

Cllr O’Callaghan adds: “With this new shadow cabinet, Hastings Labour Group is back to full strength, ready to fight for the best interests of everyone in Hastings, as we build a brighter future for our town.”

The shadow cabinet is headed up by Cllr O’Callaghan, who has a specific responsibility for Regeneration and Community Wealth.

The new poverty reduction portfolio sits with Cllr Trevor Webb, one of the longest serving members of the council. In May’s borough council elections, he won West St Leonards from the Conservatives, following a move from neighbouring Central St Leonards Ward, which swung to the Greens as part of the strong surge that saw them become the largest party on the borough council. His overall brief includes an additional responsibility for Community Engagement.

John Rankin, originally elected as a Conservative in Conquest Ward before sitting as an independent but now a Labour Group member, scores the plum Finance portfolio.

The remaining Shadow Cabinet allocations are as follows:

• Helen Kay: Housing and Community Wellbeing
• Danuta Kean: Arts, Culture and Equalities
• Judy Rogers: Leisure and Tourism
• Billie Barnes: Environment and Neighbourhood Wellbeing
• James Bacon: Foreshore Trust
• David Whitehall: Planning and Infrastructure

County council elections

The public pronouncements from both parties represent the opening shots in the run up to all-out elections for East Sussex County Council next May, which could see its traditional Conservative dominance give way to a new politics.

Mindful of their slow start placing candidates for last May’s borough council elections, which saw them lose seats to the Greens in former heartland areas, Labour has already embarked on its selection process, with initial expressions of interest now in.

The Greens, who have emerged from relative obscurity to play leading roles on Hastings, Lewes and Wealden Councils over recent years, will be hoping to build on their reputation as formidable campaigners with a county-wide coverage and will make the case that they are the most credible alternative to the Conservatives across East Sussex.

Both major parties are on high alert and the likelihood is that we can expect lively and visible campaigning across the entirety of the winter months. Whilst it used to be the case that activists came back out in March after a period of hibernation, the new reality is that we are in an all-year-round cycle.

 

Also in: Politics

« Hastings Jews for Justice to get long-sought meeting with MP
Candidates do hustings »