Seagull Weekly Briefing 29/06

Good morning, and welcome to the Brighton Seagull's Weekly Briefing. We hope you've been enjoying the weather—some friends of Team Seagull took the opportunity to go for a swim in the sea the other day. Remember to drink lots of water, and also that the beach is way quieter if you're not between the two piers!

Pre-election hustings event commitments made to community union

Community union ACORN held a Brighton Pavilion hustings on Wednesday, attended by Tom Gray (Labour), Sian Berry (Green) and Ashley Ridley (Liberal Democrats) and more than 70 people.

All candidates agreed to abolishing Section 21 'no fault' evictions as a matter of priority, and both the Green and Liberal Democrat candidates committed to introducing rent controls if elected.

Siân Berry also committed to working with ACORN in the long term to abolish council tax and replace it with a proportional property tax.

ACORN also said they were were pleased that all candidates agreed to work with them if elected.

ACORN Brighton chair Poppy Burt said:

Wednesday was an incredible opportunity for the general public and members of ACORN to find where the candidates from the main political parties stand on issues that affect their lives and are important to them. Whoever is successful we look forward to holding them to account for their promises.

Council to work on preventing violence against women

At the council's first cabinet meeting on Thursday, councillors put forward a new direction for preventing and tackling violence against women and girls, domestic abuse and sexual violence in the city.

The council held consultations with the public on the topic, receiving more than 230 responses, including survivors of violence against women and girls, voluntary and third sector organisations and public sector organisations.

Respondents agreed with the priorities of

• A strengthened coordinated response
• Prioritising prevention
• Support for survivors
• Building an accountable community and changing perpetrator behaviour

Going forward, this will shape a strategy, to be approved later this year, to guide council services on the role they play in tackling violence, domestic abuse and sexual violence.

According to council figures, there were 5,487 domestic violence incidents and crimes recorded in the city by the police in 2021/22, of which 3,299 were crimes. 

In the same time period, police recorded 1,239 sexual offences in the city, where 1,077 were serious sexual offences including 397 rape offences. The police also recorded 463 incidents of stalking.

The majority of victims were women and girls, however the council's direction will include support for everyone, regardless of gender.

🖋 News in Brief 🖋

• A drone has started being used to monitor elm trees. By looking at them from above, the council’s arboriculture team is able to cover hard to reach areas or land that’s not easily accessible, such as woodland or land near railway lines.
• Kings Road Paddling Pool is closed for repairs, which are set to happen next week. As well as this, the interactive water feature at Peter Pan’s Play Area is not working due an electrical fault.
• The council has approved a £1 million interest-free loan to Brighton & Hove Museums.
• Stanley Deason Leisure Centre has a new four-lane indoor net facility for cricket!
• Birgit Miller, the Labour councillor for Goldsmid, will be off for at least three months while she 'recovers from a serious sudden illness'. Team Seagull hope she gets well soon.

What's happening? There's an election on Thursday!

Where? Everywhere!

Exciting! Very!

What's the deal locally? We've got three constituencies in the city: Kemptown and Peacehaven, Brighton Pavilion, and Hove and Portslade.

What happened in the last election? In the 2019 election:

• Lloyd Russell-Moyle, former Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, was re-elected with 25,033 votes. Russell-Moyle's majority was 8,061 over the Conservatives and almost 23,000 over the Greens who finished in fourth place.
• Caroline Lucas, the country's first (and to this day only) Green MP, was elected to Brighton Pavilion in 2010 and held that seat, increasing her vote share across three elections, In the last election, Lucas received 33,151 votes (57.2% of the vote share).
• Peter Kyle, Labour, was re-elected in with 58.3% (32,876) of the vote, a 30.2% majority over Conservative councillor Robert Nemeth.

Who is likely to win in each seat? We wrote an entire article about that here.

When is the election? Thursday 4th July.

Do I need to take anything? Photo ID!

If I want to stay up late and watch the results come in, when will they be? Firstly, nerd. Secondly, same. Thirdly:

• Results for the election are likely to be declared, based on previous years and according to PA, at:
  • Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven—3.45am
  • Brighton Pavilion—4.30am
  • Hove and Portslade—4.45am

Where do I vote? Find out here!