The Brighton Politics Blog was published anonymously between 2009 and 2012 when its primary contributer, Andy Winter, accidently outed himself to Charlotte ‘Chuck’ Vere.
Following a period of intense frustration over the election period, and unrelenting demands from both our regular readers (Doris and the much missed Biker Dave), it is being relaunched in May 2015. All posts will normally be attributed to their author, and the scurilous style that characterised its earlier manifestation will be less in evidence although we still intend to have some fun.
The views expressed on the blog will not necessarily be sensible or coherent, and may offend. They will also not necessarily be representative of the views of the editors who, themselves, often disagree. We will ocassionally invite contributions from people with wide-ranging political views.
You can follow the blog on Twitter http://twitter.com/BrightonPolitic
Brighton Politics Blog 
BPB
Surprised to see that one of my comments on here is the base of an argus article. Regrettablty neither of us get our URLs in there.
Just wanna say, I didnt’t court them or submit it, so you obviously have high powered argus readers.
dw
Every journey starts with a single step.
UKIP are on the ballot paper in over 500 constituencies – including the three Brighton & Hove constituencies.
How about some UKIP coverage?
Betfair has us ahead of the LibDems in Pavilion.
Paul Perrin
PPC – UKIP – Hove and Portslade
Betfair are wrong!
I am not sure why we have to say “left of centre”. This sounds like an apology. The problem now is that the ‘centre’ has shifted so far to the right that the “left” is occupying a centre. It is precisely this state of affairs that brought about the biggest financial collapse ever.
At least let us say honestly “left” but take care to explain what kind of left and why. We need clear reasons. If you want to keep “centre left” for the time being until we qualify the aims, that’s OK. But don’t forget what we are here for. Something gigantic happend in the last two years and we have not yet defined it. We need new ideas. A new Left. Or just a plain Left, for a change. But we have to define our aims one by one and announce it to the world. People will listen.
If this credit crisis has shown us something is that the entire edifice in which the American model was based -and which we tried to copy- was faulty. If the US wants to follow that model, they have the right to do so. But if it’s going to be exported here, let’s fight it with good arguments.
Because it was the entire echelons of the State that allowed this to happen. Each and every one of us bought the model in one way or another. Even today we sound apologetic when we criticise the system that allowed the debacle to happen.
The system collapsed once in 1930 alright but at least that total collapse brought about policies championed by FDR that were decidedly left. His success was later undermined by big corporations and financial institutions that created the system we now have. They in turn championed de-regulation, greed and a free-of-reins market economy. This is he result. And what did we get out of this crisis? A government that wants to cut more red tape and cut more costs of the State. Did we, the workers, caused this crisis, by the way?
Perhaps we have to find new terminology. ‘The workers’ sounds too Marxist. We can’t call the wealthy ‘Capitalists’ for the same reason. So are we now devoid of arguments because we can’t use proper names to call people? So, how do we call ourselves?
So, let’s have a look at what we have and start putting together some real meaty ideas that we can show to people. This is the perfect opportunity. The system is in ruins but nobody has noticed, apparently.
I’m based in Brighton and currently write for the left of centre blog Eyes on Power. It would be great if you could include us in your Blogroll. Thanks!
Description should read: “Green party aligned blog”.
Not Green aligned at all. I called for a vote for Tom French in a by-election earlier in the year. I called for Labour votes in Brighton Kemptown and in Hove at the general election. I called for a Green vote in Brighton Pavilion because I thought, rightly, that Caroline Lucas had the best chance of winning. My disappointment is that Labour locally is lacking leadership, and that Labour activists spend too much time attacking the Greens than attacking the Tories.
I’m pleased you named Mike Weatheley as Conservative Politician of the Year. For the first time in my 25 years of living in Hove, I feel like I have an MP I can really call on to involve himself in local issues.
When called on for help, he was seriously pro-active in the saveHOVE campaign to get BHCC to take over Connaught School for primary schooling in the wake of its decommissioning by City College. Action4Kids joined forces with us and Mike laid on a public meeting at Connaught School which majorly discomfited his local colleagues in the Administration. Aligned himself 100% with saveHOVE’s petition and signed it at the meeting.
That is not a conventional politician!
Whilst Ivor Caplin never failed to answer letters and give a reasonable reply to requests, he had a “distance” built into his persona that Weatherley does not cultivate. As for Tim Sainsbury before Ivor and Celia Barlow after him: beyond awful, the pair of them.
, welcome to the Conservative candidates in East Brighton, Kelvin Poplett, Chris Sandland and Peter Booth. They have established an impressive website http://www.eastbrighton2011.com and seem well organised. No doubt they will do well in Roedean Bottom and on The Cliff, but along Whitehawk Way … ? They may have the common touch but they ain’t Mary Mears
You would be best checking your ward boundaries!
Roe dean and The Cliff are of course in Rottingdean Coastal.
We have been active in Whitehawk Way and Whitehawk Road today as our Facebook site East Brighton Conservatives will reveal!
Our stay will not be brief!….and of course there is only one Mary Mears! (Thank you for considering us in her league!)
http://sussexsocialistresistance.blogspot.com
new blog. Eco socialist, internationalist and anti-racist blog.
hope you can add this too.
As nobody else seems to have done, I’ve made a series of maps of the 2007 council elections – I’ll be doing the same for 2011 (because I’m well lame).
Anyway here’s the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/53915270@N03/5568924513/?edited=1
Please feel free to share with your readers!
By the way, you’ll need to set it so you’re viewing the image as ‘large’ for the full-size pic.
Excellent blog. Do you know any similar blogs on local politics in other cities/regions? Perhaps add to the blogroll?