Vote on what should be the council’s top priority for 2013

Expect battles over council tax and parking but progress in creating school places and homes

The year ahead looks likely to start with a brewing battle over the budget. Should the Greens be allowed to put up Council Tax or should they freeze it once again in line with government policy? While the Conservatives have made their position clear, Labour locally has yet to declare its hand.

Although Labour is the smallest of the three parties on Brighton and Hove City Council, its decision will decide whether we pay more from April or our bills remain the same. The Labour group could also swing other votes by siding with the ruling Greens or the opposition Tories.
Sometimes the party has abstained rather than back a Conservative proposal. This is probably no surprise to many, as Labour is closer ideologically to the Greens than the Blues. But it has also tried to put some distance between itself and the Green group.

Some suspect that as the next local elections approach, in May 2015, we will hear plenty of public criticism from Labour while privately the feelers go out. The local Labour Party has reformed itself over the past year and a half and is growing in confidence. But there is a recognition that winning an overall majority is likely to be an unrealistic goal and that some kind of formal support from surviving Greens could prove vital.

Labour
Labour’s difficulty is age related. None of its young hopefuls were elected in May last year. Long-serving stalwarts such as Bob Carden and Les Hamilton held their seats in Portslade while helping to bring new blood on board. The group’s leader Gill Mitchell is probably the Greens’ most effective critic.

Veteran councillor Brian Fitch recaptured the Hangleton and Knoll seat that he lost in 2007. One political opponent has suggested that he sometimes seems to be playing it for laughs and serving out his time. But another observed that he may just be picking his fights with greater care.

He gathered plenty of support as he tackled Blatchington Mill School over its hockey pitch floodlights. And while he may not succeed in saving Toads Hole Valley from the builders, he is a seasoned campaigner who will aim to bank future votes on the back of his efforts.

Jeane Lepper continues to serve Hollingdean and Stanmer even though her husband David has retired from the House of Commons after 13 years as MP for Brighton Pavilion. If Labour is to take back the other two seats in the ward, the party may need to bank on her enduring sway and hope that she stands again.

One of the new Labour councillors, Anne Pissaridou, a grandmother and former civil servant, has won admirers across party lines since winning her seat in Wish ward. Another, Alan Robins, has brought an authentic local voice to proceedings as if he were a young Councillor Carden. Councillor Robins is one of Labour’s younger members even though he is in his mid-fifties.

Tories
The Tories also have an age imbalance. Like Labour, its younger candidates were unsuccessful in May last year. Its youngest councillors include retired police commander Graham Cox who won the Westbourne by-election just over a year ago. The other two are Tony Janio, who is never short of a jibe for the Greens, and Andrew Wealls, who comes across as a more thoughtful critic.

The charm and diplomacy deployed by Councillor Wealls has enabled him to work constructively across party divisions at times. These qualities could prove useful within his group too. He and Councillor Cox are regarded in some quarters as representing the best hope for their party locally.

But they will need to work incredibly hard on the ground. Some believe that the changing demography of Brighton and Hove is against them. Likewise the timing of the next local elections – they are expected to be held on the same day that voters give their verdict on the Conservative-led coalition.

One party activist said that David Cameron and George Osborne’s attempts to revive the economy may well be the crucial factor, regardless of how well councillors and candidates work their wards. Keeping a lid on factions and rivalries will also be important especially if selection contests are held in seats such as Patcham.

Candidates in wards like Wish, Withdean and Hangleton and Knoll will need to start working the territory soon if they are to dislodge their political opponents. And in Goldsmid, the longer the Conservatives leave it before picking their team and ensuring that their names and faces are known, the less likely they will be to recover lost ground.

Greens
Age poses different problems for the Greens. Some of those standing down just over 18 months ago were relatively youthful and perhaps mindful of their careers. Being a councillor is not generally a route to riches but can take up a lot of time.

While it is sometimes said of career politicians that they couldn’t run a whelk stall, Brighton and Hove has had its share of able and committed councillors. Even among the current crop of Greens, Geoffrey Bowden stands out as an able businessman as well as a charming and efficient chairman of meetings.

The bonhomie belies a character quite capable of taking tough decisions and using his drive to get things done. In public he is far too courteous to express dismay with the slow pace of progress in the political arena. But if positive changes take place at Saltdean Lido, Black Rock and the King Alfred by 2015, he will deserve a measure of credit.

The Greens’ youthful image is exemplified by council leader Jason Kitcat and Phélim Mac Cafferty, one of the two deputy leaders. They undoubtedly have energy but they also won an election that the other two parties may well have been glad to lose. Their lot has been to oversee cuts. And they have had limited opportunities to pursue their own agenda.
The fall-out from the expulsion of Christina Summers from the Green group is unlikely to prove helpful electorally. And parking has proved another thorny issue where whoever holds office is unlikely to win favour for their decisions.

Ian Davey is trying to bring a coherence to this aspect of policy, with a city-wide parking review due to be debated within weeks. His opponents are keen to review parking charges at the same time. Given the noise generated by the last round of price rises, which were also intended to bring consistency as well as raise more cash, he is reluctant to concede. Whether it’s now, next year or election year, his hand may well be forced.

The year ahead will also the political parties try to make capital out of the need for more school places in primary schools as well as secondary schools. Councillor Wealls has been a particularly keen advocate for free schools and academies, a policy strongly opposed by the Greens. He sees the new schools as the best hope of raising standards as well as creating the required extra capacity.

With Whitehawk Primary School likely to become an academy, and the King’s School having been given permission to open, the Greens may well have to swallow their opposition. If they actively block progress, they face being accused of playing politics with the future of our children.
Housing is one area where, despite some political posturing, there is a degree of consensus and some signs of progress. Former council leader Mary Mears started a programme of work in this area, with former councillor Maria Caulfield.

When Green councillor Bill Randall took over as leader, the broad direction of policy continued even if the tone of voice changed. Council houses and flats are being refurbished using a creative financial scheme. And new building is taking place. The council is behind a modest amount of this but, more importantly, is encouraging housing associations in particular to invest in Brighton and Hove.

The success of Brighton and Hove Albion and the stadium’s sponsor American Express are as crucial to the local economy as anything that our politicians decide. But plenty of political decisions will decide which road we take in the year ahead. Or perhaps that should be which cycle lane we take. Or even which bus. One thing’s for sure – it’s going to be an interesting ride.

What should the council’s top priority be this year?
• Parking
• School places
• Building projects
• Sustainability
Vote online at www.thelatest.co.uk