Labour Councillors to defect in Brighton and Hove?

We are entering the silly season where we can expect to see defections from one party to another. There is speculation that, in Brighton and Hove, the next year may see some party switches. Already in the last week we have seen former Labour councillor, Vince Meehan, come out in favour of the Greens in [...]

The cause of Labour’s defeat in Goldsmid?

Are there any clues as to why Labour performed so badly in the Goldsmit by-election? Could it be the poor campaign, the imposed and uninspiring candidate, the divided Party locally? Perhaps the expenses scandal, Gordon’s leadersip, the disunity of former Cabinet members? Maybe the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, more and more young men and [...]

Goldsmid Result Changes Brighton & Hove Political Landscape

The obvious impact of the Green victory in Goldsmid Ward is the loss of overall control on Brighton and Hove City Council. For the Greens it provided their first ever Councillor in Hove and the first time the Party has won a seat off the Conservatives. Neil Harding provides a good summary of the impact [...]

Greens win Goldsmid by-election

12.02am STOP PRESS: Green 1456 Conservatives 1104 Labour 816 LIb Democrat 280 Congratulations Alex Phillips. Tories lose control of Brighton and Hove City Council. More in the morning.

Has Labour given up and gone home?

The thing that amazes me about reaction to this blog is the absolute lack of response from Labour supporters. Not one person, even those who know me, has defended Liz Telcs, the campaign that was run (or not) in Goldsmid Ward, or the reputation of the Labour Party in Brighton and Hove. I remain, at [...]

Goldsmid By-election is a Two Horse Race

Don’t count chickens before they hatch, is an old saying. It must be very tempting for Green councillors to speculate on what will happen in the event of a victory by Alex Phillips in the Goldsmid by-election on Thursday. Victory is by no means certain for Ms Phillips but it is clearly a two horse [...]

Labour wants anything but a Green win in Goldsmid By-election

Leading lights in the Labour Party in Brighton and Hove are desperately worried about the outcome of this weeks by-election in Goldsmid ward. So concerned are they that they are privately saying they prefer a Conservative win rather than victory for Alex Phillips of the Green Party. Most would imagine that the prize of the [...]

Labour has lost the ability to campaign

There was a time, in the 1980′s, when Labour was a vibrant, campaigning, grass routes organisation. Through campaigning, led by David Lepper and Steve (Lord) Bassam, the Party won control of the local Council. The Golsmid by-election demonstrates how the Party has lost it’s ability to campaign, even in elections. Liz Telcs has worked hard [...]

War in Afghanistan

Gordon Brown is coming under increasing pressure as the number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan continues to rise. This week has been particularly bad and there is every indication that the numbers being ‘repatriated’, to use a Ministry of Defence phrase, (or to you and me the number of dead young men and women [...]

News of the World: We don’t believe the Police

The Metropolitan Police this evening said that there was no evidence to suggest that there had been widespread phone hacking by the News of the World and that there was no new evidence to warrant a further investigation What is unfortunate for the Met is that, after the G20 demonstrations and the death of Ian [...]