The Labour leadership challenger Owen Smith joined party colleagues as they took to the streets of East Brighton yesterday (Saturday 23 July) to campaign in the by-election.
Mr Smith, a former history and French student at Sussex University in the 1990s, helped by-election candidate Lloyd Russell-Moyle and his supporters as they went out canvassing.
Mr Smith is taking on Jeremy Corbyn in a contest for the Labour leadership and took the opportunity yesterday to speak to party members at The Manor gym.
He served as Shadow Welsh Secretary under Ed Miliband and as Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary in Mr Corbyn’s frontbench team until he resigned last month.
Mr Russell-Moyle hopes to hold the East Brighton seat on Brighton and Hove City Council for Labour when the by-election takes place on Thursday 4 August.
The vacancy was caused by the resignation of Maggie Barradell who stood down to help care for her elderly mother after her father died.
Great to see so much focus in Whitehawk from Labour, i called for this at the meeting in east brighton, in which lloyd was selected as our candidate.
I want to see more members meetings in the heart of whitehawk and more people coming forward to join the party to have their voices heard.
Whitehawk needs investment and we need to tackle some real issues in the area.
Sorry dan, but while you fly your weird Momentum banner, no one sensible really cares what you think.
To my knowledge, which is extensive, labour have always focused on Whitehawk. Getting new homes built there was part of a flagship policy, which is being achieved. I suppose you have the answers and want to be selected there. No chance.
How’s the campaign for housing going? Bogged down in infighting that you have caused? Hadfield offered you some money to help yet? Do you owe me that £25?
In the interest of balance I want to point out that there are five other candidates in the East Brighton by-election. The appearance of Owen Smith indicates that Labour fear they may lose this seat that they have treated as a private fiefdom for so many years.
Yes very strange that they had Owen Smith and Campaigners from other parts of Sussex but not many local Labour Councillors.Labour seem to be allowimg The Travellers to take over the many Parks in the area without doing much about it especially at Wild Park Stanmer and Sheepcote it might end up costing them votes big time if they do not do something about it
It is shameful that the rebel labour MPs are attacking Corbyns team back room admin staff who can’t defend themselves against MPs. Corbyn’s back room admin staff feel threatened bullied, intimidated and fear for their jobs as a result of attacks on them by the labour rebel MPs. Labour party member and supporter will find these attacks and attempt to sack Corbyn office admin team members abhorrent.
Owen Smith is not good enough to be a labour party leader. He did not opposed the Tories Welfare Bill benefits cut. It shows that he does not care about the low paid, the unemployed, the disabled and other people on benefits.
Owen Smith was a lobbyist for pharmaceutical company. It is reported that Owen Smith has someone on his leadership campaign team who is a lobbyist for big pharmaceutical companies and commercial providers of healthcare services. NHS is not safe in Owen Smith’s hands.
Another one who thinks this is a pro Corbyn chat room… Mate get a grip, no one cares about your conspiracy theories.
what a moron!
OK – How about you set the debate and we can all agree with you? You don’t get to choose what people comment on a public article. It isn’t about being ‘Pro-Corbyn’ it is about recognising that Smith doesn’t: a) have a chance of winning and b) is a PR man who represents corporate interests. The Labour Party has found its way back to socialism and those who don’t consider themselves socialist, should find another movement.
Interesting that this seems to be a an internal Labour party factional forum. As a voter inclined towards the left I shall be either spoiling my ballot paper as I have had to too many times in recent years or voting green if they have put up a decent candidate.
FYI the Green candidate Mitch Alexander has been at the forefront of campaigning to save the bus services that cover Bristol estate and Meadowview. Additionally she has also been campaigning to stop the closure of GP surgeries including the willows surgery. I find it strange that the Momentoes are helping to elect Blairite enabler Russell-Moyle he’s a professional Politician if ever I spotted one, Parliamentary candidate for Lewes at the 2015 GE, then chair of Brighton Labour for a year, moved to East Brighton uncannily in time for the vacancy of councillor to be ever so timely available! It’s a parachute job! And an ex- Liberal Democrat to boot. About as left as my Johnson.
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/do-not-isolate-the-people-living-in-the-bristol-estate-east-brighton
Arthur, why is your (real) name not on the ballot? Clearly you’re engaged as well as locally knowledgeable! Perhaps it is?!
The only problem is the Green’s have a pretty appalling record in Brighton and let the city down completely in the last term.
Mitch could be another one of their well meaning sorts who doesn’t recognise delivery barriers. Her literature feels well meaning but fairly vague.
I wish her well though as she does engage locally, it’s a shame I keep being out when she knocks on my door.
I only moved to Brighton 18 months ago but I’ve been shocked how despicable the Labour party acts in the city. At a time when Corbyn brought me closer, people like Warren Morgan have pushed me further than ever.
With the Green’s being unelectable due to pie in the sky ambitions, and smaller parties not relevant I contacted the Conservatives to see what they were all about. We’ve had interesting conversations but so far, thought just conversations.
I believe their candidate was once from Whitehawk, but that doesn’t count for much if they’re not doing casework.
Brighton feels a city of politics and not policy. On some levels that’s understandable but it’s impacted and is impacting delivery. The people of Brighton deserve more but I don’t see anyone currently who really knows how to bring and sustain positive change. Labour especially are proving that at local and national level politics is much more important than policy.
I might switch off all media for next few month’s and turn it back on when all this nastiness is over. Skip to 24th September when Corbyn is announced as Labour leader with an even bigger mandate than before and the all these Tory-lite types crawl back under the pebbles they came from.