Brighton goes Green as Labour loses largest party status
Brighton goes Green as Labour loses largest party status after councillor was suspended and two resigned over anti-Semitism claims
- The Green group is now the largest party in Brighton and Hove Council
- Two Labour councillors have quit and one has been suspended since March
- Green group now holds 19 of the seats, with the Labour group now on 18
Brighton has gone Green after Labour lost its status as the largest party amid anti-Semitism claims.
The Green group officially took over power on Thursday evening after the resignation of two members of the council’s Labour group and the suspension of another from the party.
The former Labour councillors stepped down from their roles after anti-Semitic pictures and Facebook posts emerged.
Nichole Brennan resigned in March after photographs of her holding a sign calling Israel a ‘racist, apartheid state’ were shared with The Argus.
The images of Brennan were taken at a Hove Town Hall rally against Labour’s adoption of a wider-ranging definition of anti-semitism two years ago.
On July 15 it was announced Brennan’s former colleague Anne Pissaridou had been suspended and would face investigation after posting an alleged anti-Jewish conspiracy theory on Facebook in 2016.
The article claimed the German banks were on the brink of collapse and linked their demise to Jacob Rothschild.
The Green group is now the majority party in Brighton and Hove council following the resignation of two Labour councillors and a suspension of another
The Green group take over in Brighton comes after it was announced on Monday councillor Kate Knight had also quit after a series of allegedly anti-Semitic Facebook posts were unearthed from between 2016 and March 2019.
New council leader Phelim Mac Cafferty said the outlook for local government in the UK ‘has never been bleaker’ but said his party ‘stand ready to serve the city’ which faces a loss of up to £39 million as a result of coronavirus.
The Green group holds 19 of the seats on Brighton & Hove City Council, with the Labour group now on 18.
Council leader Phelim Mac Cafferty said the outlook for local government in the UK ‘has never been bleaker’
The East Sussex city hosted the Labour Party annual conference in 2019.
Speaking at a full council meeting on Thursday evening, Mr Mac Cafferty warned of a ‘massive hole’ in the city’s budget.
He began by paying tribute to the people who have died in the city as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.
He continued: ‘We owe it to the memory of each of them to use the coming period to work in as unified a fashion as possible.
‘There is a massive hole in the budget. Estimates of loss to our city currently range from £17m and £39m.
‘But if there’s one thing I know about the special place we all call home, it is the city’s creativity, ingenuity and flair.
‘If there is a place that can respond to this crisis, it’s Brighton and Hove.’
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