I'm in love: what's that song?*

Last weekend heralded the Vernal Equinox, when the days begin to get longer and lighter. The Wheel of the Year is on the turn, and Spring is starting to show its face. There are daffodils emerging outside St Peter's, and some beautiful crocuses in the city's lawns and squares (the pic to the left was taken outside Kings House last week - good work, CityParks!).

Anyway, I'd hoped that I'd be feeling more energetic and perky this week after one of the most epic bouts of SAD in living memory, but typically I've been laid low for the past few days with a malaise which (wit being in slightly short supply this evening, following a very disappointing tea) I can only refer to as Grandaditis.

Symptoms: after working all morning and having lunch, I am overcome by the most unusual urge to "just close my eyes while I listen to the Archers". Fast forward to 3.15pm and I awake, spluttering and jonesing for a nice cup of tea, to the sound of the You & Yours Budget Special (or something similar), having kipped all the way through the Afternoon Play [*hmm face*]. Good grief. I sincerely hope this is temporary as it's severely hampering my ability to, erm, do stuff in the afternoons. And it's making me feel ooooold.

Anyway, mindful of my recent vow to be a more regular correspondent, I just wanted to check in (before I pass out to the sound of the Shipping Forecast) for a quick round-up of musings and happenings since my last post:

1. Full Council last Thursday
This was a pretty depressing meeting, all in all, although we managed to pass our Notices of Motion on Maternity Services, and Letting Agents. Cllr Jason Kitcat has neatly summed things up here if you want the painful details.

Suffice to say that the unholy alliance between the Tories and Labour in voting together to: a) defer the debate on councillors' allowances until after the General Election, and b) to force through changes to the Council constitution which will curtail debate in the chamber, put me in mind of nothing so much as the end of Orwell's Animal Farm when "the creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." More evidence (as if any were needed) that Greens are the only real opposition in Brighton & Hove.

13 Greens Good: page 2 photo in the Argus - one for Glum Councillors, surely? ;)
13 Greens Bad: Tweeting from Full Council is now apparently under review (bah - and I've only just started doing the wretched Twitter thing)


2. Alex Chilton: December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010
RIP Alex. I've had a hard time conveying who you were and just why the Box Tops and Big Star were so ace when I've commented on your untimely passing to other people, but your music will always remind me of being thirteen.*



3. Phoenix
After a period of thorough and well-executed consultation, Phoenix will be submitting planning applications for the redevelopment of their building by the end of March. Last week I had the pleasure of accompanying both Caroline Lucas and our new council Chief Exec to view the plans and meet some of the artists who work in the building.

Both my guests were extremely enthusiastic about the plans, and I felt very proud to be able to show Phoenix off to them. There are so many wonderful artists and makers working from the building, and I've got everything crossed that the applications will be successful, as the redevelopment is essential if Phoenix is to continue to provide affordable workspace, and to consolidate its work within the wider community. Not to mention making the building energy efficient. Or continuing to contribute to the city's economy [*administration priorities face*]. Watch this space...

4. Caroline was ace on Question Time
As Thursday night was Full Council and I was in the Chamber till gone 10pm, I couldn't indulge my habitual TV politics fix, so I did what any self-respecting geek would do and watched it again on iPlayer on Friday night. Believe me when I say that this was a pure treat. Well done that woman.

5. Social Media Tory Bashing
Ah, this and this is probably very old but both sites have been making me laugh a lot [*waves bye-bye to Phil Collins. Again.*]

6. Neil Harding is back! Back! BACK!
So the least I can do is to make more effort with this blog. Nice to have you back Mr Harding. You have been missed.

7. So is Ben Duncan
Cllr Duncan's official Kemptown PPC blog is finally launched :D Hurrah!

8. Ward stuff
Good meetings tonight with residents. The first concerned planning enforcement issues over a scaffolding site which is owned by the same developer to whom we lost an appeal to build on former railway allotments last year, and was kindly attended by the council's new Enforcement Manager, who comes with a formidable track record in securing the UK's highest ever enforcement fine (£150k, suckas). We'll know more in a month's time about whether we need to up the game in terms of the council considering taking legal action on this.

The second meeting was convened to discuss ongoing issues surrounding the introduction of a new residents' parking scheme in the streets immediately south of the railway tracks at London Road station. I'll be speaking to this at tomorrow's Environment Cabinet Member Meeting. And I'll say no more at this point, because there's been some deeply regrettable political fail occurring over this in the ward of late, and actually it's all just a little bit sad and unedifying. Suffice to say, it's a cowardly and cynical politician, local or otherwise, who refuses to engage with controversial or difficult matters merely for the fear of losing votes. And - as someone once said - I'm not like that.

A bientot.

*An unexpected side-effect of Alex Chilton's passing has been having the Replacements' eponymous paean to the great man permanently stuck on my internal jukebox for the past week. What a tune. A boyfriend put it on a mix tape for me when I was 15, and it still sounds as exuberant and fresh as it did when I first heard it 22 years ago. My eyes and throat have been aching with nostalgia and a yearning for times and things long past.

Recent Interesting* Industry Stuff

And so to the Planning Committee once more this afternoon, its inexorable three-week cycle trundling on like some sort of built-environment-based menses.

I actually find this frequency and regularity very reassuring - sod the summer break (when everything at the Council more or less shuts down for a couple of weeks), never mind Christmas and Easter (ditto), nothing short of a nuclear war would prevent this vital piece of local democracy in action from occurring - which is a very good thing, given the fact that the Planning Committee is pretty much the only truly democratic voting forum for elected members remaining under the new arrangements at Brighton & Hove City Council. Hats off (pink, hard or otherwise - no laughing at the back there) to the officers for keeping the show on the road, and to such a punishing schedule.

Anyway, it was a mixed bag this week as usual - no major applications, but a plethora of minors which had been brought before the Committee thanks to calls from ward councillors and residents. The most frustrating application concerned a retrospective permission for Primark on Western Road (which Cllr Jason Kitcat has blogged about as ward cllr in his efforts to support residents in their objections) - not least because Primark's representative from mega property consultants Savills was clearly very inexperienced, very nervous, and, erm, couldn't actually answer any of the Committee's questions properly. Super. Very useful. To my mind this was indicative of Primark's generally dismissive attitude towards residents and the council, and to their responsibilities towards their neighbours as a whole. Sadly my arguments suggesting tougher conditions on deliveries and the service area didn't hold sway.

Still, I always enjoy my time at the Planning Committee even if I don't always agree with the decisions made in the meetings, because I *heart* the built environment (when it's designed properly); and with this in mind I thought I'd share some recent industry stories which have caught my eye:

• Birmingham Library denied Listed status (thanks to an entirely politically motivated decision by the (*ahem*) Culture Minister - see my earlier arguments re Technocracy)

• Tory councils 'less likely to grant planning permission' (o rly?)

• Biodiversity loss is Earth's 'immense and hidden' tragedy (yes - and I am so glad Prof Wilson is sticking his head over the parapet to say this at a time when the economic and climate crises have diverted global attention far, far away from protecting and conserving our natural environment)

• But happily... the TEEB Report calls for more ecosystem markets (a pioneering approach which has resonance with the tireless efforts of our City Ecologist in developing the recent draft SPD on Nature Conservation & Development, due for adoption next year)

• Three London councils win Housing funding freedoms (let's hope B&H are next)

• Taskforce to turn churches over to communities launched (good - *secular face*)

• CABE launches green infrastructure campaign (can somebody tell Cllr Geoffrey Theobald?)

• Brighton planners get industry props for winning Amex office changes (great coverage for officers in amidst recent local media controversies - well done all concerned)

• Woman ranked as one of UK's top Builders (excellent news :D)

and finally... [*Trevor McDonald face*]

• Architecture for Pets (I have not shown this to the guys in case they get jealous and start to form ideas above their station)

By the way, in my quest to locate the pink hard hat pic above, I was simultaneously amazed, amused and astonished (not to mention a little appalled) to discover that there is an entire website devoted to Lady Builders' Tools, Equipment and Accessories. OMG. Anyone for a cerise utility belt? If I ever find gainful employment within the industry again, you can bet I'm going to kit myself *RIGHT* out ;)

* interesting to planning, built environment & design spods, that is... I can hear my sister's voice saying "BARRING" lol

GOLDSMID: EPIC GREEN WIN

GRN 1,456 - 38.5% (+17.6%)
GRN GAIN FROM CON

CON 1,104 - 29.2% (-0.9%)

LAB 816 - 21.5% (-6.8%)

LD 280 - 7.4% (-7.32%)

UKIP 129 - 3.4% N/A (others 6% last time)

After an energetic and hard-fought campaign, Alex Phillips emerged victorious in the Goldsmid by-election last night, with an emphatic majority of 350 over the Tory candidate. Labour limped in at third place, with a pitiful 800-odd votes.

WHAT AN AWESOME RESULT! Sorry for shouting, but my God, if there was ever a result to utterly disprove Labour's tired lies that "voting Green lets the Tories in", this is it.

Our first ever seat in Hove.
Our first ever win from the Tories.
Thirteen Green councillors in thirteen years.

Alex deserves this success more than I can say - she worked bloody hard (tirelessly canvassing across the entire ward and ultimately encountering nearly 60% of the electorate - politics geeks will appreciate just how awesome this is) and she fought a clean fight: not for Alex the petty personal attacks that other parties sought to wage.

Alex - you go girl! As Deputy Convenor, I am thrilled to have another woman in our group, and I am so proud of Alex. Goldsmid people, thank you for putting your faith in this exceptional young woman: you now have an elected representative who has proven just how hard she will work for you, and will be an honest and fair representative for you all.

And as for the speculation as to What This Might Mean, watch this space... Suffice to say, Ben, Neil and The BPB are covering all bases at the moment ;)

Oh, sweet!

Tory Tosh & Labour Lies

"Tory Tosh & Labour Lies" was the title of a classic Regency by-election leaflet, published back in November 2007 when we were fighting to keep our seat in the ward and get Jason Kitcat elected (which we did - with a massive 41.6% of the vote). The title still makes me chuckle even now :)

Anyway, recent days have seen an epic breakout of both Tory Tosh and Labour Lies across Brighton & Hove, at both national and local level electorally:

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SO, FAREWELL THEN DAVID BULL

News broke on Friday that David Bull, a former doctor and TV presenter, was standing down as the Tories' Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Brighton Pavilion in order to head up a Conservative policy review on sexual health with Anne Milton, the shadow health minister.

This didn't come as a surprise to us - Brighton & Hove Greens had noticed that he'd stopped updating his campaign website months ago.

But why the (not-so-sudden) exit from the contest for a Westminster seat which the Tories had seemed to consider a relatively winnable gain from Labour? Surely not the prospect of losing to Caroline Lucas, or the lure of other, safer, seats which will inevitably become available in the wake of the expenses scandal?

Who can say? One thing's for sure, some Tory activists are pulling [hmm] faces (check out these comments - my favourite one is "this policy review smells like a fig leaf" lol), but Dr Bull is denying everything, especially a big fall-out with the local Conservative Association.

We await the announcement of their replacement candidate with interest (please, God, NOT David Van Day again. Please.*).

*Ben's blog about this nightmarish scenario is very funny.

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LEAFLETS: YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG

Labour, on the other hand, just seem to be getting more and more desperate if not downright barking when it comes to the forthcoming Goldsmid by-election, and their accompanying campaign material.

First, their candidate tried to pretend that, erm, she wasn't really a Labour candidate (honest!), whilst simultaneously adopting Green policies.

Then she took up a whole photo in her next leaflet to prove just how Green she really is ("Look kids! THE PLANET IS IN MY HANDS!" - here's a protip love, it's not the kids you should be trying to educate about Climate Change, it's your colleagues in Government).

But to top it all, the most recent Goldsmid Labour by-election communication was little more than a catalogue of lies; a laughable fiction aimed solely at undermining Alex Phillips, the Green candidate for this contest (well, it would be laughable if it weren't breaking the law).

Now, I could take some time here to dissect Labour's feeble effort of a leaflet line-by-line, but to be honest it's so crap and so tired that I really can't be arsed. It's just bobbins.

Plus Ben has already blogged about this (as has Neil Harding - the Brighton Politics Blogger is also keeping a watchful eye, and continuing to urge for a tactical Green vote in Goldmid). And anyway, I understand that the local constabulary are now involved, so probably best not to speculate further on matters which may already be under investigation.

Instead, 'cause I'm feeling generous this evening, here's another tip for Labour's (*ahem*) 'publications gurus': attack other parties' policies in your leaflets, not their people.

Trying to discredit your opponents on a personal level generally goes down like a cup of cold sick with the electorate, and smacks of pure desperation. People just aren't that stupid (unfortunately for you).

Labour, you FAIL IT. Roll on July 23rd.

Votivation

Under the Local Government Public Involvement in Health Act (2007), local authorities and their elected councillors now have a duty to involve and engage with residents on matters of local importance.

The statutory “Duty to Involve” is one of several government initiatives designed to empower and involve local people. These initiatives aim to:

- involve local people in decision and policy making; and

- make councils and other public services more transparent and accountable to the electorate and tax payers.

In a bid to employ technology in the pursuit of better engagement with the community, I've signed up to the Votivation website. I must admit I'm still getting my head around how to use it properly, but participants can set up online polls and petitions, and submit (*ahem*) 'opinions'.

And Votivation called this afternoon to say they're upgrading my account as I'm an "early adopter" - woo-hoo!* You can view my Votivation page here.

*what this actually means, I couldn't say. I hope they call me back soon to talk me through it.

Goldsmid: the tactical vote is a Green vote

A very interesting post from the Brighton Politics Blogger regarding voting tactically in the Goldsmid by-election to bring an end to Tory misrule in Brighton & Hove:

Tactical Voting Needed to Beat the Tories

In this blog on Wednesday I said that Mary Mears was hanging on to power following the resignation of Paul Lainchbury resulting in a by-election to be held on July 23 in the Goldsmit [sic] ward.

A victory by the Greens (possible) or Labour (increasingly unlikely) would deny the Conservatives control which they currently have on the casting vote of the Mayor.

The Argus has now picked up on this and is reporting that Labour, the Greens and Lib Dems might cooperate to oust Councillor Mears as leader of the council. This would mean that the Tories could no longer form a cabinet and all parties would have to cooperate to run the Council.

Tactical voting is what is needed, and both Labour and Lib Dem supporters should really consider voting for the Green candidate, Alexandra Phillips.

Weekending

Apart from a spot of leafleting in Goldsmid earlier this evening, I am taking it easy this weekend after a rather epic week. The predominant theme was trying to catch up on council work following the Euros. Here's a bit of a round-up:

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On Monday, I had a meeting at the Phoenix with fellow Trustees and senior council officers to discuss plans to refurbish the building.

I've got a soft spot for this modernist landmark, but it's urgently in need of an upgrade and a makeover, not least because there are real problems with solar gain in parts of the building.

RH Partnership are the architects for the project, and they've done an excellent job with the initial design concept:

The design's moved on somewhat since the image above was produced, but this should give you a flavour of the proposals. It's all very exciting, not least because Phoenix are aiming to self-fund the project. I'm hoping pre-application discussions with the Planning officers will happen over the next couple of months.

On Monday evening we had a Group meeting, which included a presentation by CityClean officers regarding the new Waste Strategy for Brighton & Hove. Obviously Greens are always going to be hard to satisfy when it comes to the way in which the city currently manages its refuse and recycling, but there are some surprisingly good proposals in the emerging document.

Sadly nothing as yet regarding taking action on the plastic containers and cutlery used by food retailers on the seafront and throughout the city, but I'm going to keep pushing on this. If we can introduce compulsory biodegradable / compostable vessels and cutlery at events in Brighton & Hove, it will be easier to make the case to local businesses I hope.

And the Supermarket Summit is back on! Apparently.

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Tuesday was devoted to ploughing through my groaning Inbox and dealing with emails, and on Wednesday I had a Planning Committee meeting, preceded by a meeting (wearing my Deputy Convenor hat) with Cllr Brian Oxley in which he outlined his aims as Chair of the Governance Committee over the next municipal year, and asked for feedback from the Green Group on his proposals (guys, if you're reading this, I'll be typing up the notes on Monday).

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On Thursday morning I met with a senior CityParks officer to discuss a request from residents on Preston Park Avenue for an access ramp into the park at the northern-most end of the street. This is an ongoing campaign, and I'll be posting more about this soon.

I had a cultural lunchtime, and then went up to the local party office to stuff envelopes for the Goldsmid campaign with Ben and our friend Alison. After a quick dash home to eat and see Mr K, it was back out for a local party bash at Moksha, to celebrate our success in the Euros.

Dr Caroline Lucas MEP & Cllr Keith Taylor

The lovely Moksha people had made us little cupcakes with green icing :) and a jolly good time was had by all.

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I had meetings throughout Friday morning, with Tourism officers, and then with Planning & Enforcement officers regarding sites adjacent to London Road station. Again, the latter concerns an ongoing campaign, and I'll have more to say on this over coming weeks.

After lunch and a whizz through some emails, it was back to the local party office for yet more envelope stuffing with Jason, Phelim and local party Chair Simon. Four thousand envelopes later, we were finished by 10pm - and retired to the pub.

*phew*

Goldsmid in Private Eye (again)

Goldsmid is featured yet again in the latest edition of Private Eye's 'Rotten Boroughs' column - the third item in the past eight weeks.

It could be argued that the Eye is entirely responsible for forcing this by-election: the 'Paul Lainchbury Situation' was an open secret in the council for months before the Tories were forced to confront it, and to do the decent thing by voters in the ward.

But just how decent was the Tories' timing when it came to setting the date for Polling Day?

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Private Eye, 12th June 2009 - 'Rotten Boroughs'

CURSE OF GNOME [*lol]

SO, FAREWELL then Paul Lainchbury, Skidrow-on-Sea's absentee Tory councillor (Eyes passim), who resigned on the day of last week's local and Euro elections.

After Lainchbury, who had missed every Brighton & Hove council committee meeting and community/resident group for a year, was exposed in the Eye, Tory council leader Mary Mears insisted he stay on long enough for Skidrow Tories - who now lose their overall majority [**] - to select the new mayor and cabinet unopposed last month.

This meant the ensuing by-election could not be held on the same day as the Euros, prompting a special poll in Goldsmid ward costing an extra £10,000 - £20,000. Trebles all round!


* I love the 'Curse of Gnome'. Previous victims have included Robert Maxwell and Mohammad Al Fayed.

** The Tories don't, in fact, have an overall majority - they rely on the vote of Independent (former Tory) Cllr Jayne Bennett and the Mayor's casting vote to win in the Council Chamber.

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Are these the same Tories that are forever pontificating about better use of public money?

In February I put forward an amendment to the council budget calling for £20,000 to produce an integrated campus-wide Schools Travel Plan for the Varndean campus (in order to start to tackle the traffic mayhem and serious road safety concerns in Surrenden and Balfour Roads), which the Tories rejected.

Clearly they would rather spend Brighton & Hove tax-payers' money on a needlessly delayed by-election (caused by the inability of one of their members to do the job properly) than road safety for thousands of the city's children and young people.

Goldsmid By-Election: Thursday 23rd July

The Goldsmid by-election will be held on Thursday 23rd July - just as the school holidays are beginning. I think postal voters will be targeted hard by all the parties in this contest as a consequence.

Clearly buoyed by their success in the Euros, UKIP have declared that they'll be putting a candidate forward too - a charming fellow who has previous form in Brighton & Hove as a Tory councillor.

This just gets more and more interesting...

And now for a by-election

Talk about picking a day to bury bad news - after months of speculation, Cllr Paul Lainchbury finally announced his resignation on Thursday afternoon. This inevitably means a by-election in Goldsmid ward, where Greens fell just 222 votes short of a seat in the May 2007 local elections.

Ben Duncan has been blogging about the events leading up to Cllr Lainchbury's resignation, and Brighton Blogger Neil Harding has calculated a relatively small 3.5% swing needed if Greens are to win this seat.

We selected local resident Alex Phillips as our candidate for a Goldsmid by-election some weeks ago:


Alex is an excellent candidate, and will make a hard-working, dedicated councillor for Goldsmid ward should she be elected.

The question is, when will the Tories call the by-election? They won't want polling day to fall within the school holidays, so my guess is we'll hear something next week - and then it will be back into the fray.

A Green win in Goldsmid would put us on an equal footing with Labour, with 13 seats apiece, and the Tories would no longer have a workable majority at the council, even with the support of the one independent (former Tory) councillor.

As Ben says, interesting times...