Brighton and Hove Labour leadership and deputy nominations show Labour is undecided

In Hove and Portslade Keir Starmer MP was nominated as leadership candidate after two rounds of voting and Ms Butler was elected deputy leader after four rounds of voting in the Labour leader and deputy nominations.

Hove MP Peter Kyle supported Jess Phillips and has not yet said publicly whom he now supports. Former Labour Councillor Emma Daniel organised the meeting with Mr Starmer.

Penny Gilbey, who was Labour Councillor for North Portslade until she retired last year after the May elections said: “All the candidates are excellent candidates but whoever is elected as leader, it is important for the party to unite behind him or her.”

Hove and Portslade Labour Party leadership and deputy nominations in brief

Hove and Portslade CLP nominated Mr Starmer as their Leadership candidate and Mrs Rayner as Deputy Leadership candidate. Carol Sewell was nominated as NEC BAME representative.

Third round of voting

Candidate Swing Result
Rebecca Long Bailey +9 70
Keir Starmer +20 56

Third round of voting

Candidate Swing Result
Rebecca Long Bailey +9 70
Keir Starmer +20 56

Johanna Baxter and Gurinder Singh Josan were nominated as National Executive Committee Constituency Labour Party representatives.

Brighton Kemptown Labour leadership and deputy nominations in brief

Rebecca Long Bailey MP is the clear winner for the Brighton Pavilion nomination. She got 36 more votes than her nearest rival, Sir Kier Starmer MP yesterday (Saturday 09 February, 2020.)

In Brighton Kemptown it took three rounds of voting for Ms Long Bailey to win although she had the endorsement of Brighton Kemptown’s Labour MP, Lloyd Russell-Moyle.

Third round of voting – Brighton Kemptown CLP

Candidate Swing Result
Rebecca Long Bailey +9 70
Keir Starmer +20 56

Mrs Long Bailey was nominated as Brighton Kemptown’s leadership candidate after three rounds of voting. She beat Mr Starmer by 14 votes although the swing to Mr Starmer in the third round of voting was 20 percent compared with nine percent to Mrs Long Bailey.

Dr Allin-Khan, who may like to be known simply as Doctor Khan, beat her closest rival, Richard Burgon by 57 votes because she came to the meeting in person to canvass support. There was only one round of voting for the deputy leadership candidates in Brighton Kemptown CLP.

Only Labour members who attended the three constituency Labour party meetings (CLPs) could vote.

Brighton Pavilion Labour Party leadership and deputy nominations in brief

Less than seven percent of the Brighton Pavilion Labour membership voted and 190 votes were cast. Labour members were not allowed to vote by post or by proxy. They had to vote in person at the member only Labour Party meeting.

Mrs Long Bailey is the Brighton Pavilion nomination for Labour leader. She won in a single round of voting by 36 votes which is 19 percent more than her closest rival, Mr Starmer MP.

For the deputy leadership in Brighton Pavilion, voting was less straightforward. However, when votes from other candidates were transferred to Dr Khan and Dawn Butler MP, Ms Butler was the clear winner with a majority of 25 votes.

Third round of voting

Candidate Swing Result
Rebecca Long Bailey +9 70
Keir Starmer +20 56

The devil is in the detail

Here is a full breakdown of the results:

Brighton Kemptown CLP Labour leadership and deputy nominations

First round of voting

Lisa Nandy 16

Emily Thornberry 32

Keir Starmer 30

Rebecca Long Bailey 54

No vote 1

Second round of voting

Candidate Swing Result
Emily Thornberry +2 34
Rebecca Long Bailey +7 61
Keir Starmer +6 36
No further vote +1 2

Third round of voting

Candidate Swing Result
Rebecca Long Bailey +9 70
Keir Starmer +20 56

Deputy Leadership

Rosena Allin Khan 77

Richard Burgon 20

Dawn Butler 15

Angela Rayner 17

Ian Murray 2

No vote 2

Brighton Pavilion CLP Labour leadership and deputy nominations

One round of voting

Rebecca Long Bailey 99

Kier Starmer 63

Lisa Nandy 22

Emily Thornberry 5

Deputy leadership

Dr Allin-Khan Richard Burgon Dawn Butler Ian Murray Angela Rayner
First round of voting 47 43 54 8 38
Second round 50 43 54 Eliminated 42
Third round 69 49 67 0 Eliminated
Fourth round 75 Eliminated 100 0 0
Result Eliminated NOMINATED

There will be a Labour Party hustings in Brighton on Saturday 29 February.

 Hove and Portslade CLP Labour Leadership and Deputy nominations

Keir Starmer was nominated as Leadership candidate, Angela Rayner was nominated as Deputy Leadership candidate. Carol Sewell was nominated as NEC BAME representative.

Johanna Baxter and Gurinder Singh Josan were nominated as NEC Constituency Labour Party representatives.

Labour Leadership Candidate

Rebecca Long Bailey Lisa Nandy Keir Starmer Emily Thornberry Spoilt ballot papers
Round 1 69 62 108 4
Second preference 14 Eliminated 51 Eliminated 1
Round 2 83 0 159 0 1
NOMINATED Eliminated

Labour Deputy Leadership Candidate

Dr Allin-Khan Richard Burgon Dawn Butler Ian Murray Angela Rayner Spoilt
Round 1 39 24 39 66 72 3
Second preference 0 Eliminated 17 1 5 1
Round 2 39 0 56 67 77 4
Third preference Eliminated 0 6 23 10 0
Round 3 0 0 62 90 87 4
Fourth preference 0 0 Eliminated 5 44 13
Round 4 0 0 0 95 131 17
Eliminated NOMINATED

243 members attended the Hove and Portslade Constituency Labour Party meeting and Labour members can only vote if they attend in person.

An edited version of this article has been published today by Brighton and Hove News.

Coronavirus briefing by Brighton and Hove director of public health

Green Councillor for Brunswick and Adelaide ward, Phelim MacCafferty released a public health briefing about the coronavirus to councillors this afternoon. He said: “Last night Rob Persey who is the council’s executive director for health and adult social care briefed Councillors. I can raise queries you may have about the virus with Rob and with other council officials.”

Background

The 2019 coronavirus called Covid-19 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been spreading since it was first reported in December 2019. Symptoms include fever and respiratory symptoms including coughing and shortness of breath.

Generally, coronavirus can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease. Standard advice to prevent the spread of infection is recommended, including maintaining good hand, respiratory and personal hygiene.

On Friday 7 February it was confirmed that the UK’s third positive case for 2019 Novel Coronavirus was a resident of Hove. Since then a total of five cases have been confirmed in the city.

Details of positive cases and their location can only be confirmed by the Chief Medical Officer of England.

Latest update on the coronavirus

On Monday 10 February the latest cases were confirmed by the Chief Medical Officer in the daily updates. and we added the latest information to the council website.

This means that five out of the eight current confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the UK were reported in Brighton & Hove. All the Brighton & Hove cases are adults.

The new cases are known contacts of a previously confirmed UK case. The virus was passed on in France.

The latest patients from our city have been transferred to specialist NHS centres, and healthcare workers are using robust infection control measures to prevent any possible further spread of the virus.

Addressing the situation

The NHS and Public Health England are extremely well prepared to manage these cases and treat them. The organisations are working quickly to identify any further contacts the patient has had.

This latest patient followed Public Health advice by self-isolating rather than going to A&E. For the latest advice visit gov.uk/coronavirus.

The local NHS and Brighton & Hove City Council are working closely with Public Health England (PHE) to manage the situation and to ensure everyone remain as safe as possible, using robust infection control measures to prevent any possible further spread of the coronavirus.

Some Brighton & Hove residents have been told to “self-isolate”, which means stay at home and not have contact with other people. They are being asked to take the same precautions that everyone would to avoid other people if suffering from a heavy cold or the winter flu – stay at home and not go to work or school/college.

During this time they will be supported by PHE, who are monitoring them and will undertake further testing if they show any symptoms of the virus, and provide any further care needed.

Health advice:

If you are feeling unwell and have not been contacted by Public Health England, then there is no need for concern.

You should continue to treat your symptoms as usual for seasonal flu or a common cold. If you feel unwell and do not know what you should do, then call NHS 111.

Coronavirus

Everyone is being reminded to follow Public Health England advice to:

  • Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitiser gel. Effective sanitiser gel should have a 60% alcohol content or higher.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after using public transport. Use a sanitiser gel (see above) if soap and water are not available.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

Information on individual cases:

The government’s Chief Medical Officer makes the official announcements about new cases of coronavirus and what details can be shared about individual patients.

Public Health England is the lead on providing health advice and actions.

Both the Chief Medical Officer and Public Health England have made it clear that clinical guidance and medical confidentiality comes first. They will decide when it is possible to release information.

While we have been waiting for official announcements, organisations locally are working round the clock to put measures in place to manage the situation and share as much information as possible.

The city council is pressing for information to be shared quickly to reassure the public of all that is happening behind the scenes. We have also asked for more flexibility on making local announcements to clarify the situation.

The Chief Medical Officer remains the only source for confirming updates on coronavirus. The council can only share information about individual patients after details are officially announced by the Chief Medical Officer.

School closures

Public Health England and the office of the Chief Medical Officer are clear in their advice that schools do not need to close. Headteachers with any concerns have been advised to speak with Public Health England if they have any specific worries.

The council’s school’s team is in regular contact with headteachers to discuss issues at individual schools. There is a high level of concern at schools and headteachers are being kept up to date.

You can collect relevant posters for you and resident groups from Mr Mac Cafferty at Hove Town Hall.

Where can I find more information?

Hate incidents
Hate incidents either relating to the coronavirus or about separate matters can be reported to the Community Safety Team at Brighton & Hove City Council by:

Hate incidents can also be reported to Sussex Police – go to www.sussex.police.uk/contact-us  for details or call 101 (999 in an emergency).

Some of the information in this article has been supplied by Sanctuary-on-Sea.

Brighton Pavilion and Brighton Kemptown Labour Parties endorse Rebecca Long Bailey

Rebecca Long Bailey MP is the clear winner for the Brighton Pavilion nomination. She got 36 more votes than her nearest rival, Sir Kier Starmer MP yesterday (Saturday 09 February, 2020.) In Brighton Kemptown it took three rounds of voting for Ms Long Bailey to win although she had the endorsement of Brighton Kemptown’s Labour MP, Lloyd Russell-Moyle.

Brighton Pavilion nominated Dawn Butler MP who beat Rosena Allin-Khan by 25 votes. Dr Khan attended the Brighton Kemptown hustings in person and won with a clear majority of 23 votes.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle who is Brighton Kemptown’s MP backed Rebecca Long Bailey and Angela Rayner. He said: “Rebecca will professionalise the operation, we have lost four elections, under Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband as well as two under Jeremy Corbyn.

“We need to be comfortable with the Labour Party’s history. Angie and Becky will do that very well. They will not be shy about celebrating the last labour government. In 2017 we got the biggest share of the vote and then we saw the magic wear off. But I will say all candidates will be very good. Everyone should be good.

“Rebecca Long Bailey pioneered our most popular policy, the green industrial strategy, she understands working class voices, she knows we have bridges to build, she’s loyal to Jeremy Corbyn and she was not involved in bullying.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle

“Rebecca is someone who understands the need for change.

“Whoever wins I’ll be incredibly proud of the Labour Party and our values.”

“Angela Rayner is a perfect bridge, she’s not taking policy positions, she’s a wing-woman. She wishes to serve with Rebecca. Rebecca and Angie wish to serve together. Angela benefited from Sure Start herself. She understands who we need to reach out to.

“I don’t know what Brighton Kemptown will do. I will host a joint rally very soon here in Brighton and Hove for Rebecca Long-Bailey and Angela Rayner.” Full details to follow.

Brighton Kemptown constituency Labour Party results

Full results of the constituency labour party (CLP) vote are as follows:

First round of voting

Lisa Nandy 16

Emily Thornberry 32

Keir Starmer 30

Rebecca Long Bailey 54

No vote 1

Second round of voting

Candidate Swing Result
Emily Thornberry +2 34
Rebecca Long Bailey +7 61
Keir Starmer +6 36
No further vote +1 2

Third round of voting

Candidate Swing Result
Rebecca Long Bailey +9 70
Keir Starmer +20 56

Deputy Leadership

Rosena Allin Khan 77

Richard Burgon 20

Dawn Butler 15

Angela Rayner 17

Ian Murray 2

No vote 2

Brighton Pavilion Constituency Labour Party nominations for leader and deputy

Less than seven percent of the Brighton Pavilion Labour membership voted and 189 votes were cast. Labour members were not allowed to vote by post or by proxy. They had to vote in person at the member only Labour Party meeting.

One round of voting

Rebecca Long Bailey 99

Kier Starmer 63

Lisa Nandy 22

Emily Thornberry 5

Deputy leadership

Candidate First round of voting Second round: Ian Murry eliminated Third round: Angela Rayner eliminated Fourth round: Richard Burgon eliminated
Rosena Allin-Khan 47 50 69 75
Richard Burgon 43 43 49
Dawn Butler 54 54 67 100
Ian Murray 8
Angela Rayner 38 42

For the deputy leadership in Brighton Pavilion, voting was less straightforward. However, when votes from other candidates were transferred to Dr Khan and Dawn Butler, Mrs Butler was the clear winner with a majority of 25 votes.

I very much look forward to hearing all the candidates speak in Brighton on Saturday 29 February at the Labour leadership hustings. I hope it will be a public meeting.

Hove and Portslade Constituency Labour Party Leadership and Deputy Leadership nominations

Keir Starmer nominated as Leader

Angela Rayner nominated as Deputy Leader

Carol Sewell nominated as NEC BAME representative.

Johanna Baxter and Gurinder Singh Josan nominated as NEC Constituency Labour Party representatives.

There was 243 members at the Hove and Portslade Labour Party meeting.

Breakdown to follow.

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Valentine’s day is the first day of reckoning for Labour’s rising stars

Keir Starmer for leader – Hove and Portslade Labour Party hustings, 04.02.20

Keir Starmer addressed several hundred Labour members from across Brighton and Hove at All Saints Church, Hove.

“I have real enthusiasm to have a say on what happens next. We have 580,000 members which is our highest ever membership and we are the biggest political party in Europe.

Mr Starmer said the general election was devastating, devastating for the very brilliant Labour MPs that Labour lost, brilliant candidates, and even more importantly devastating for those people who desperately needed change. He said: “Now they are not going to get the change we all desperately needed.”

He spoke of the electoral challenges faced by Labour across the United Kingdom. He mentioned the ‘red wall’ in the north, known as Labour’s heartland of safe seats.

When describing the scale of the problem, Mr Starmer said: “If all we do is win back the seats we’ve lost, we’ll lose again. We’ve got to win in Scotland. In Scotland we have one MP. We should have been returning 27-30 MPs, we only returned one.” Labour has the same problem in Wales because of the nationalists. He also said you can draw a line from South West from Bristol where Labour needs to build support.

“We have lost four elections in a row. If we lose the next one in 2024, a whole generation will have been let down and not have the protection of a Labour government,” Mr Starmer said.

Labour’s frontrunner said health inequality was a huge issue and that there was a 10 to 15 year difference in life expectancy between his St Pancras and Holborn constituency and the one next door, I think in Hampstead and Kilburn, also in the London Borough of Camden. Here you can see how London voted in the 2019 general election.

Mr Starmer said he thinks people outside London feel: ‘I can’t affect change near me’ and he criticised brutal cuts to our public services. He said: “Our public services are on their knees, the health service is grossly underfunded. My wife works in the health service, teams are demoralised. They have more to do than they can possibly cope with. Social care. Mental health. Homelessness. The list is so long.”

“However, we feel, we’ve got to pick ourselves up. We need to unify as a party.

“All the time we are fighting each other, we are not fighting the Tories. With 580,000 members we have dedication, commitment and energy. It doesn’t mean everyone agreeing with each other. It means tolerant respectful decision-making.”

“Unity needs to come first and foremost from the leader of the Labour Party. We have to unite. We have to be a really effective leader.”

Kier Starmer

Mr Starmer said he had already served under three Conservative Prime Ministers. First there was David Cameron who couldn’t get his party in order and then abdicated all responsibility.

Second, there was Theresa MP who had a complete inability to lead her party.

Now, he said, we have Boris Johnson as Prime Minister: “It’s offensive. He has no moral compass. There’s little lies, then there’s big lies. About tariff free trade. He negotiated that exit deal with the EU. The document in front of him said there would be checks in the Irish Sea. Boris stood up at the despatch box and he said there will be no tariffs in the Irish Sea.

Mr Starmer is concerned that every MP who broke the Conservative Party whip has been replaced with a more right-wing candidate.

He criticised the government because they removed protection for unaccompanied children, some living as close as Calais in the middle of winter with no electricity and heating at night.

Mr Starmer said: “The only difference between my children and the children in Calais is where they were born.”

He predicted that as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson would attack Trade unions and restrict the right for collective action. He said: “We’ve got to take him on at the despatch box. He doesn’t like scrutiny. He barely turns up these days. That’s why he wouldn’t do the Andrew Neil interview.”

Mr Starmer said: “We need to win the argument and demonstrate that we are taking ground. Opposition is losing. You are shadowing the person who is making the decisions. I came into politics to change lives. You don’t deliver that in opposition.

“We’re in Parliament, we vote and we lose. Since we’ve been back we’ve lost every vote by 100 so we’ve got to win that election and we’ve got to press forward to do it.

“What’s happened in the last five years, we don’t walk away from public ownership etc. but you need to build focusing relentlessly on the future.

“You’re not going to deal with inequality by being timid. We know the founding principles. We stand up for the vulnerable. The free market model is busted, you wouldn’t have this level of inequality if the free market model worked. You need a moral compass. The Green new deal has to be hard wired into everything you do. If it’s bad for the environment it’s bad for the economy.

“Power needs to be closer to people. We need bottom up politics, in a town or city not in Westminster. It’s a very socialist argument.

Labour Party“The Labour Party needs to be much more supportive of our local councillors. We need to be brave enough to say we are a party that is internationalist, we need to have solidarity across borders and our values proudly on show. We know the principles. We do have to glimpse the future and persuade people there is a better future with Labour.

“There’s nothing like our health service anywhere in the world.” Mr Starmer gave the examples of Sure start, hospitals, schools and said they were impossible dreams made possible by a Labour government.

He said: “We have a choice. We can either spend the next four years, moping around or we can pull together. We can say the next leg of the journey is for us. We can change things. We can do the hard work.

How proud would you be to be part of a Labour Party that changes lives? We need to change our party, our movement and our country for the better.”

Questions from the floor

  1. The first question was about anti-Semitism: how did we get here and in practical terms, how do you expunge it?

Mr Starmer said: “If you’re anti-Semitic, you shouldn’t be in the Labour Party. I will ask for weekly progress reports. If you want things to change, you have to show that you’re personally committed to it. I will only feel I’ve dealt with it when people who left because of anti-Semitism, come back to the Labour Party.”

He said the anti-Semitism question is part of a wider debate about how I make this Labour Party more inclusive. In Mr Starmer’s constituency, there was one ward meeting where young people never came back. Our arguments put people off. We weren’t inclusive and tolerant enough. They didn’t feel we would make a difference.

  1. Electoral reform. He said: “It’s not right for people to vote in safe seats and feel their vote doesn’t count.” Mr Starmer said Labour will reform the house of Lords, create an elected senate and a regis of the nations. Wales and Scotland have different systems already as devolved assemblies. In Wales 16 & 17 year olds can already vote. The Labour Party will be producing a discussion document about electoral reform. In the meantime, watch this site: https://www.labourcampaignforelectoralreform.org.uk/
  2. Why does the Parliamentary Labour Party decide the names on the leadership ballot when the party has a membership of 580,000?

Mr Starmer said: “Whoever leads the Party needs unity in Parliament. If not, you have a flank open that you don’t want open. Having a leader that the team in Parliament don’t really want does bring problems. In the end now we have a shortlist, it is a very empowering thing for members. Whoever wins, we will support them.”

  1. Negative effect of the media on the Labour Party: Mr Starmer said: “Jeremy Corbyn was vilified by the media for years. Jeremy got more than his fair share of it. Media amplified Tory lies. Social media. Conservative Party HQ. I salute all the candidates putting themselves forward. This slide into abuse for the Labour Party needs to change. The lies interchanged with it are just making it worse.”
  1. Green new deal: Mr Starmer said: “Is it realistic to be carbon free by 2030? It’s really difficult. If we come in in 2024, will we be carbon free by 2030? We can be very upbeat in the Green Deal.” He mentioned biogass, (vehicle) batteries, insulation and said there are incredible opportunities for an explosion of opportunity.
  2. How do you hold the government to account on climate change? “We need to address the climate crisis and challenge the government internationally… There is a climate crisis. The Paris agreement is pretty weak. We need to take Mr Johnson on in that fight… Some of what we can do, we will do. We need clean air for people with respiratory problems.”
  3. Single sex exemptions in the 2010 equality act: Mr Starmer said rights for transgender people are very important. He said there needs to be a respectful discussion because trans people and those in same sex relationships need to be protected. He said their rights are not a political football. You can read more about gender reassignment discrimination here. Gender reassignment is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 along with eight others which are: Age disability, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.

Final reflections on the manifesto: Mr Starmer said in the 2019 general election people weren’t saying they don’t like your policies, they just thought the manifesto was overloaded. “We had a manifesto that no-one believed, they (the Conservatives) just had three words – “Get Brexit done.”

Labour leadership election

Personal Reflections

I think Jeremy Corbyn is a clear example of a leadership candidate that many in the Parliamentary Labour Party did not initially support and in the end he may have helped the Conservative Party to their landslide victory. I personally really like Jeremy Corbyn.

Alastair Campbell and Tony Blair also thought Jeremy Corbyn was the wrong leader and said so very publicly, as did many other Labour MPs. Mr Corbyn did not have much support initially in the Parliamentary Labour Party and in the end proved no competition for Boris Johnson, although against a weaker leader (Theresa May), he had some success. Parliamentarians probably really do know their leaders best because they work with them day in and day out in the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

However much Brexit fatigue we are feeling, exploited by the Conservative Party during their campaign, Brexit remains the pressing issue for government and for all MPs over the next 12 months at least. Mr Starmer was the Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union until we left the EU.

As a journalist I am not a member of any political party but I would want to elect the candidate with the best understanding of Brexit who can provide robust opposition to the Conservative government and most effectively hold Boris Johnson to account.

We need to tackle inequality, particularly wealth inequality, and acknowledge the accident of birth that determines every child’s future. We need to heal our nation and union as well as reaching out a hand of friendship to the EU and the Commonwealth beyond it.

We need to fight for the NHS and our other public services more than ever so that money is not just put into policing and prisons.

However, our clear mandate now from the electorate is ‘to get Brexit done’ whether we like it or not.

The Labour Party should elect the candidate best able to hold Boris Johnson to account in the House of Commons. In the next twelve months MPs must insist on accountability over Brexit and must build an alliance with other parties to scrutinise government negotiations.

Labour lost the election badly but she still has a very important role to play in Parliament and in the running of our country. The Labour Party is the opposition to the government and the government in waiting.

Brighton and Hove Labour Parties have up to four days to nominate their Labour leadership candidates

Brighton Kemptown’s Labour Party votes on who to nominate for the Labour leadership tonight. Brighton Pavilion and Hove and Portslade Labour Parties will decide on their nomination on Saturday.

Member only Labour Party meetings to decide on the Constituency Labour Party (CLP) nominations will be held this week across Brighton and Hove at the following locations:

  1. Brighton Kemptown, Wed 05 February, Dorset Methodist church, 7pm Dorset Gardens
  2. Brighton Pavilion, 08 February, Grand Hotel, Brighton Pavilion, 9:30am
  3. Hove and Portslade, 08 February, Hove Cricket Ground, 2pm

Four candidates who are still in the Labour leadership race are Sir Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy and Emily Thornberry. They have sufficient backing from MPs and MEPs to approach constituency labour parties for support. Jess Phillips has withdrawn from the race for leadership of the Labour Party.

Each candidate needs either five percent of Constituency Labour Parties (33) or at least three affiliates (at least two of which shall be a trade union) comprising five percent of affiliated membership to be successfully included on the ballot. The final date for the Labour Parties in each constituency across the UK, including the three in Brighton and Hove, and affiliates to submit their nomination is Valentines day, Friday 14th February.

Ballots open for voting by Labour Party members on Friday 21 February and close on 02 April. The result will be announced on Saturday 04 April.

At 10am on Wednesday 05 February 2020, the constituency nominations were still coming in and a rolling list of constituency Labour Party nominations for the Labour leadership is available that will be updated until Friday 14 February when nominations close.

Candidate Total Nominations

Labour Leader Candidate Union or affiliate support Constituency nominations
Rebecca Long-Bailey UNITE, BFAWU, FBU, CWU 70
Lisa Nandy National Union of Mineworkers

Chinese for Labour

GMB

28
Jess Phillips Withdrawn Withdrawn
Sir Keir Starmer UNISON, Usdaw, SERA, Community, Labour Movement for Europe, Labour Business, Socialist Health Association 154
Emily Thornberry No union support 12

You can read more about the Labour leadership selection process and candidates here and see how your MP and old MEPs voted when they declare.

Rebecca Long-Bailey is supported by the following unions: UNITE and the Bakers Food Alliance Worker’s Union. UNITE is the second largest union of British and Irish members who have successively elected Len McCluskey to run it. It was formed when Amicus merged with the Transport and General Worker’s Union.

Lisa Nandy has support from the National Union of Mineworkers, Chinese for Labour and GMB whose General Secretary is Tim Roache.

Sir Keir Starmer is backed by the Socialist Environmental and Resources Association, UNISON which is the largest and a public service union run by Dave Prentis and USDAW which is the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers. Mr Starmer spoke at All Saints Church, Hove this evening, Tuesday 04 February 2020.

Emily Thornberry will be relying on constituency support from constituency labour parties because she does not have union backing for her campaign.

Deputy Labour Leadership

For the deputy leadership of the Labour Party, Angela Rayner is the run away favourite. Here are how the figures broke down on the rolling list of CLP deputy leader nominations once again updated this morning at 10am, 05 February, 2020:

Candidate for deputy Unions or affiliates Constituency nominations
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan Labour Campaign for International Development 16
Richard Burgon UNITE, BFAWU, FBU 24
Dawn Butler Chinese for Labour 38
Ian Murray Labour Movement for Europe 27
Angela Rayner

 

National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), UNISON, GMB, USDAW, CWU, Labour Business, Socialist Health Association 159

An edited version of this article was published today by Brighton and Hove News.

Brighton and Hove ‘shine a light’ for Europe

Brighton and Hove for Europe organised a vigil yesterday, Friday 31 January, next to the Peace Statue on Hove Lawns. It was a simple moment to remember Britain’s contribution to the European Union and a solemn moment where we came together to say goodbye.

We sang Beethoven’s Ode to Joy and held hands to sing Auld Lang Syne as they did in the European Parliament on Tuesday.

In a statement from Caroline Lucas, she said: “This is a historic day, whether you voted to leave the EU or to remain.

“And our future will be judged by how we respond now to this moment.   I want to be honest.  My heart is breaking.

“Of course, like all institutions, the EU has its flaws – but for me it has always stood for ambition, courage and vision.

“This is what helped us emerge from the rubble and destruction of the second world war into a country that’s been at peace with its neighbours ever since. A miracle few would have dreamed possible when the bombs were raining down.

“And ambition, courage and vision are what we still have in common.

“We will need them all to rise to the greatest challenge we face today – the climate emergency.

“Only by working cooperatively with our closest neighbours – as well as with those further afield – will we be able to take the urgent and ambitious action the science demands to prevent the worst of the climate crisis.  And we need the vision to completely transform our economic system.

“To work in harmony with nature. To leave behind a world where weapons and money can go anywhere, but refugees are vilified and compassion chased out of town. And we need climate justice to go hand in hand with social justice.

“The Leave vote was a howl of rage at a status quo in this country that is intolerable for huge numbers of people. The social contract is broken and the power game is rigged.  We need the vision to build a democratic consensus about changing that, together, for good.

“The potential power of our collective action demands that we reach out, with courage, to those from whom we have become so dangerously divided.  Bravely build bridges in our communities and around the world, not burn them.

“We live in turbulent times. The political tides are unpredictable. The real tides are rising. Far right populism is once more stoking fear, division and despair.

“The future has never felt so uncertain.

“Yet if Brexit has taught us anything, it’s that what we previously imagined unthinkable is in fact possible.

“We may have lost the battle to keep Britain in the EU but what kind of endings do we believe in?

“I believe in those that are also beginnings.

“And the struggle for a compassionate, fair, green, peaceful, future begins anew right now.

“In the love and sadness so many of us are feeling right now, we affirm, rather than deny our fellowship with Europe and the world.

“We begin again knowing hope is always more powerful than hate, that our common humanity matters more than what divides us.

“That ambition, vision and courage call.”

European Union

Hove MP Peter Kyle was unable to attend the Peace Vigil in Brighton said: “All of us are united in sadness just as we were united in our fight to remain in the EU.

“Thanks to you all I remain an optimist. Together we’ve seen too much of the good in humanity in our campaigning to emerge from this battle as pessimists!

“The political landscape hasn’t stopped evolving because we’ve now left the EU. Quite the opposite. The months ahead will give us so many opportunities to set out our vision for a better Britain. Better than the one Brexiteers could ever imagine!

“Please stay united. Please stay positive. And please let’s continue our campaign in new and exciting ways.”

Labour’s Tracey Hill, Councillor for Hollingdean and Stanmer ward said two flags were raised at the Town Hall buildings of Brighton and Hove City Council today – one British and the other European.

She said: “I am proud of being part of ‘the barmiest council’ in Britain. I can be British and I am European. I don’t think being British is the only thing about me.”

Ms Hill said she was pleased we gathered near the peace statue because it reminded her of the statue of liberty in New York which should have been a symbol of opportunity.

She said: “You give something and you get something back.” People often tell her that migrants only take something away. To Ms Hill, nationalism and populism has never made sense.

“You have to celebrate our differences instead of being afraid of them. We have to live those values and never shy away from having a difficult conversation. We should have talked about Europe, we should have challenged populism. If you do not fight for the things we love, you will lose them.”

Councillor Leo Litman spoke on behalf of the Green Party. He said: “So, it’s Brexit day. Britain has ‘taken back control.’ An easy slogan to shout but what does it mean?

“Even Brexit Party MEPs belatedly realised that without a voice in the European Parliament we are now simply rule-takers, no longer rule-makers. In other words, we’ve given up control we once had. But surely, now we can now control our own destiny? Hardly.

“The whole world knows the UK is negotiating from a point of desperate weakness. We literally cannot survive without trading with the rest of the world but the world can get along just fine without trading with us.

“Britain is almost certainly the first country in history to impose sanctions on itself…

“Britain alone cannot hope to stand against the ongoing climate and biodiversity crises. We need to work together.

“Britain alone cannot uphold worker’s rights, consumers’ rights, the right to free movement, the rights of refugees to reunite with their families, animal rights or the rights of the natural world. We need to work together.

“Britain alone cannot create a fairer world where resources are shared equally between people, nations and across generations, including those not yet born. We need to work together.

“Fundamentally, we need to take back control from those who have temporarily grabbed it and share it with each other, with our European cousins, with the rest of humanity and the rest of the natural world.

“Only that way can we be genuinely free and look to a safe future we can all share.

“The first step towards that is maintaining as strong a relationship with the EU as possible.

“The next step is, of course, re-joining and re-taking our rightful place at the heart of Europe.”

European

Susie Cortault is one of the organisers for Brighton and Hove for Europe. She said:

“So, yes, today we are desperately sad that we are being wrenched out of our European family against our will. Brexit has always been an ideological political project but it has had costs and for us it has been personal.

“Families are divided, friends have been lost. But coming together as a movement and sharing our upset and pooling our resources, has been incredibly healing and supportive.

“I would like to thank all those members of the committee of Brighton and Hove for EU who have helped these last three years – we have lost members – and we have gained members. Last week we had several new members. We know we are stronger and more effective if we are unified, rather than divided.

“Let’s shine a light tonight as a symbol of hope.  Let’s be proud of those progressive values that underpin the European project.

“So most of us agree that now is not the time to campaign to rejoin, don’t worry, but our work is not done.

“And when the time is right, we will return to be at the heart of Europe where We belong.

“Until then, let’s celebrate our ‘Europeanness,’ let’s get into our schools and try and influence the learning of foreign languages, exchange trips, pen friends, protecting and campaigning for Erasmus, and potentially twinning with a European city.

“Brexit is a political ideology but we are the people, and we can change things on the ground – in our schools, in our council, in all the places where we have a voice. Let’s reinvigorate our democracy…

“Before we sing our final song, Auld Lang Syne may I remind you to stay close to  your loved ones, allow yourself to cry, hug each other. Feel what you feel.

“We are a vibrant progressive city, let’s light a candle and put it in our window at 11, turn off the lights, and if you use twitter use the hashtag #still European.

“Or #Forever European. When the 50 coin comes out, just remove it from circulation. Put it in a jar and get Brexit gone!

“Auld Lang Syne

“Thank you for coming”

Wish Councillor Robert Nemeth who was the Conservative candidate at the last general election was approached and declined to comment. He was interviewed about his views on Brexit on Latest TV.