While those of us in the Rottingdean Coastal ward may appear to be a small part of the Brighton and Hove City Council area, we have unique challenges.
Wealthy Roedean residents live next to a larger number of economically deprived East Brighton residents.
The needs and preferences of older established residents are not always the same as those of a proportion of the 30,000 university students who live here for short periods with very different political interests.
Many traders and home workers were omitted from the covid rate rebate and grant support schemes which were accessible to other more established businesses such as those in hotel and leisure.
These polarities and potential divisions create a need for greater understanding, flexibility and compromise in policies and local support.
We need councillors who can reflect those needs, show evidence of these qualities and demonstrate their achievements on behalf of communities like ours.
Can we please have an opportunity to meet and put questions to council candidates to explore in more detail their experiences, credentials and capacity to manage differences while serving our community?
Publishing candidates’ best intentions is not enough in itself to judge how they will deliver real actions which make a difference in supporting the broad interests of all.
An evening question and answer session in a public hall would help people choose the best person for this challenging role.
Clive Bonny is a Rottingdean Coastal resident.
100% agree!
I’ve read the responses to the written questions but politics is much more than written answers, we need to see how they handle the pressure of public debates they will face in the council chamber.
Organise a hustings then!
But you’d better be quick election day is less than 2 weeks away
BYW it was the government that set the rules for the covid rates relief scheme not the Council.
The problem here, Clive, is that Miller remained silent for much more than a year over his police issue, none of us knew about it, and then all of a sudden he resigned, leaving us all in the proverbials with barely any time remaining for a by-election or anything else to be organised. Had Miller been honest with the electorate from the outset of his issue (like in Sep 2020) we would never have been put in this position – but he wasn’t honest, so here we are.
Come May 2023, the whole council will be up for election under the normal procedure (3 votes each), but it looks as if the boundaries will have been changed and Rottingdean Coastal will have just 2 councillors and there will be a new ward of Kemptown and Marina with 2 councillors. In the meantime, we are stuck with the current set-up, but only for one year.
I am just going to vote for whoever I think will be best for the forthcoming year, in the knowledge that we all can re-visit the situation in May 2023 with all the usual hustings etc. Can only suggest that you do the same. It’s not ideal but we are where we are.
I honestly don’t think there is any time for hustings etc (and it would be nice if David Haskell butted out of this, as he pops up everywhere with his comments, but never seems to stand for election himself and who knows which ward he lives in, if any).
Thing is, Clive, we residents in the ward have to make a decision in under 2 weeks – and it is only for one year until the full elections, when we all get a proper chance to use our 3 votes as per normal in whatever ward we happen to be come that time. The current situation isn’t ideal, but Miller dropped us in it and we are stuck with it temporarily. Unfortunately.
come that
.
What is your fixation on me? You are under no obligation to read or comment on what I say. I am under no obligation to stand in an election to voice my opinion.
My name is clearly visible (whereas you hide behind anonymity) and I live in the Rottingdean Coastal ward, hence why I have read the candidate’s responses.
No fixation, David. Are you a registered elector in RC?
PS: You might as well be anonymous, because no internet search comes up with any clue as to who you are or what you represent or are promoting in your myriad posts on this forum. All I am is an elderly and very ordinary voter in RC who has become increasingly appalled by the state of politics in B&H and the adverse effects on residents. I could call myself Joe Bloggs or any name you care to mention, if you would prefer. The point is, though, who are you, do you have some political affiliation that you have never revealed (which you should, if there is one – I have none) and do you have a political agenda of some kind? I have no political agenda of any kind at all. I am entirely apolitical and just want to see a better representation and future for RC and whatever wards we end up with next year. Names are meaningless – who are you?
Sorry. There are a couple of errors in this. Probably, come May 2023, it will be 2 votes each (whichever ward we’re in), but that doesn’t change the principle. There are also a couple of stray words on the end which shouldn’t be there.
There is no David Haskell on the electoral register for Rottingdean Coastal. I just checked!
He pops up everywhere, Suzi, with his political opinions. My best guess is that he’s some sort of political agent (possibly for the Greens) but, as he never reveals who he is or what he represents, then he is very safely ignored. And, as you have verified he’s not on the register for RC, that makes his opinions and comments doubly irrelevant.
We in RC and properly on the register know what the situation is in this ward and require no outsider comments from Haskell or anyone else of his ilk.
Totally agree Clive. Above all else we need the little darlings to be honest. Sadly there will be no public Q&As this time around and credentials will be taken at face value. A large pinch of salt advised…
IT IS ONLY FOR ONE YEAR! Please get a sense of realism and proportion, as well as understanding how the ward electorate was totally blindsided by Miller and how this by-election has had to be organised at minimal notice. We were all expecting the full council elections in May ’23, when there would have been and will be the full monty goings-on with the new ward boundaries and, all of a sudden, this gets dumped on us. All candidates seem to have done their best, given the ridiculous timescales and lack of preparation time, so we do indeed have to take things at face value. But I repeat, only for one year.
For there to be public Q&As it requires someone to actually organise them.
That means finding and paying for a meeting hall and liaison with all the candidates to agree a date. Finding someone to chair the session and other people to help out on the evening.
The someone needs to agree the rules for the Q&A with all the candidates such as time limits on answering and order of answering questions and the subjects to be covered and then making sure a range of questions get asked.
Then it needs advertising across the entire ward and not just in one part.
Are you and Clive volunteering?
Watch this space! Time is tight but we hope to bring the candidates together and give voters a chance to ask them questions.
Stroll on, Frank. There is just over a week to go and most of us know where we are already. Labour put a leaflet through which had the name of the ward wrong (there is no ‘Rottingdean Coast’ ward) and they also dishonestly skewed the voting figures to make out that Lab had many more votes than Tories – they did, but they totally ignored the fact that Bridget Fishleigh (no party) came top of the pile. Labour actually came 5th-7th, however they cynically try to skew the numbers.
As for Mr Bonny, to whom you have very questionably allowed an opinion piece, (is that because he has a very nice and valuable house which most of us in RC – down the western end anyway and probably quite a few down the eastern end – could not even dream about?? and he is also in business and not a typical voter around here). Wake up, Frank. You’re being taken for a major ride here.
These personal attacks on anyone within spitting distance (and on Brighton and Hove News, for good measure), from someone who chooses to attack people by name but not to reveal their own, are really unpleasant.
Clive and David manage to make their very valid points without abusing anyone.
Oh, and I’m a genuine elector in Rottingdean Coastal who doesn’t appear on the commercially available electoral register; that’s because I ticked the privacy box.
Great news!
Brighton & Hove News has just managed to organise a hustings, which is a real achievement.
Thanks to B&H News; and thanks to Clive and everyone else who has encouraged them to make it happen.
There’s more info at:
https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2022/04/28/rottingdean-coastal-by-election-candidates-to-take-part-in-hustings/