The new Labour leader of Brighton and Hove City Council has urged his political rivals to respect the mandate won by his party at the local elections.
Councillor Warren Morgan said: “I am grateful to voters across Brighton and Hove for electing Labour councillors in large numbers, making us the biggest group on the city council.
“Labour candidates won 20,000 more votes than the Conservatives and as many seats as the Greens won in 2011.
“We gained 12 seats from the Greens while the Conservatives gained just one so Labour has a clear mandate in terms of seats gained and votes won to lead the city council.
“We will lead a Labour council which will implement the sensible policies we put to voters having listened to them on the issues that matter to them: getting our basic refuse, recycling and street cleaning running properly, tackling the issues of housing and poverty, making our city’s economy work for everyone, and getting the city’s transport networks and roads working as they should.
“We will ask all councillors of all parties to support these common goals that will benefit our city and we will work constructively and co-operatively with them.
“The next elections are four years away. It is time to put political rivalry and advantage to one side and put Brighton and Hove first.
“Our city and our residents face enormous challenges under very difficult circumstances, but we will lead with purpose and vision, based on our values of fairness and co-operation, to get the best for everyone in Brighton and Hove.”
Warren Morgan has done something for the economy: that is to say, his comments are a bit rich, coming from a man who for four years took every opportunity to do down an Administration which had a mandate. What’s more, he put forward a hateful Vote of No Confidence (at which some of Labour looked a bit glum that afternoon).
Fifteen years ago Labour had some far-fetched ideas about Hove and Brighton being “a player on the world stage” but that did show some ambition, which is a far cry from the small-town mentality displayed in cllr Morgan’s plea.
@Christopher – so what have you ‘done for the economy’? What did your green party actually do for the local economy?
Why do you think that the green party dropped you as the green candidate for the Central Hove ward?
Why do you think the green party didn’t support you as green candidate for the Hove & Portslade constituency?
What are your plans for the future?
I fear that your obsession and bile will affect your body. The mind and body are inextricably linked.
You should reflect on that – and the passing time. Take a rough count of how many days you have left if you make it to, say, 75. You sound as if you are letting them slip through your fingers, and will have scant material for the summing-up.
I was not “dropped”. In fact, I was asked many times to continue but i thought that one should not stand in both Elections – and the boxes revealed a good showing for me from Central Hove..
I was supported in Hove and Portslade but, of course, the main, and successful, aim was to secure a good majority for Caroline Lucas. I am glad to have helped with that.
Chris, now that your political career is other, I would suggest you spend your time in the pub looking at ways you can transition Hove Library to being in the “third sector” before its inevitable closure.
*over 😉
@Christopher – not bile – just a healthy scepticism – so you can’t answer what you did for the economy, but are first to make accusations of others!
And you really believe they wanted to keep you – well a certain amount of self belief is definitely healthy – as long as that isn’t just delusions of adequacy.
I wish you a very long and healthy early retirement keeping warm in Hove Library – or will be seeing more of you joining the ranks of the green party slimerati on these pages?
Perhaps after you decided you wanted to play with the big boys and lost out big time you will now be able to spend more time in Your beloved Hove Library.
Not holding my breath!
Bin men will still strike. It is a given and now with Labour and Unions in each other’s pockets there is no chance
I am so depressed that the best the Labour Councillors can come up with is cancelling the Valley Gardens redevelopment – why is anyone pleased by such a negative attitude to Brightons future? Are they going to hand back the 8 million provided by the government towards this scheme? We’re not going to be allowed to spend it on anything else.
For all the previous councils faults, at least they understood how desperately Brightons streetscape required improving.
But it wouldn’t improve it because reducing it to one lane in each direction would create even more pollution and be just one continously line of traffic trying to get in and out of the City Centre.
Rolivan. Maybe you should go and study traffic management. Surely everyone knows by now that if you have one lane, two lanes, 3 lanes etc. the traffic will expand to fill the space. I think you’ll find then that two lanes of traffic will give you twice the pollution of one. Also on a much less narrow minded position, the Valley Gardens would have improved footfall for local business and made the area a much improved place for visitors and locals alike.
lol good luck with your plea, Warren Morgan, but considering you spent the last 5 years being as obstructive as humanly possible to the Green minority administration, I think you know you’ll get no help whatsoever.
Oh dear Christopeher, your bitter whine is clearly from those sour grapes!
Hardly! Relief is perhaps more the word.
What i am highlighting is the phenomenon of the serial moaners, experienced by councillors of all parties: these people who seem not to take any delight in the very short span of life but latch onto every small difficulty – which are the very fabric of life – and portray these as Armageddon or the devastating experiences of much of the world. it’s been said many times, many ways, but the abiding fact is: if these people think they can solve everything in a tweet or a post, why are they not in charge of a large organisation instead of spending all day at a keyboard? Several councillors had to block these people on twitter.
Life presents many major issues – such as TTIP, fracking and so on – but there is so much to enjoy along the way, and – as i see it – politics should be there to buttress that.
During the Election it seems that one of my resonant remarks was to point out that life is about 27,000 days. Subtract from those the number that have gone by: it can be very sobering.
The serial moaners would make better use of time by doing so.
You keep on about making use of your 27,000 days – I guess you wasted much of this on your pompous postings.
Well I think I’ve done pretty well for my days, and for 2 minutes worth…so what are you planning to do now you are no longer a councillor and failed miserably at getting elected as an MP?
If you don’t like getting response, then may I humbly suggest you stop posting your sycophantic drivel for the loathsome greens.