A Labour official in the Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven constituency party has followed the former MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle in defecting to the Greens.
Aaron Austin Locke posted a message on Facebook, headed: “Public resignation from the Labour Party.”
He wrote: “I have been an active supporter of the Labour Party since I was 16 and am currently secretary of Kemptown and Peacehaven CLP (Constituency Labour Party).
“I have been chair and secretary at various levels, I have co-ordinated selections for the local party and in 2022 ran the successful campaign to win a Labour seat in Rottingdean, the then safest Tory seat in the city.
“I am very sad to say that I am now leaving Labour for two main reasons.
1) The national party’s continued appeasement of fascist political parties, culminating this week in a policy announcement that will see the theft of what little refugees already have by the state.
2) The local party’s bullying and slander against good people continue unchecked and unconfronted. This includes stifling (and in some case unilaterally overturning) democratic debate and decisions and expelling members for little to no reason, eg, attending a trans ally protest or writing an obituary for a friend. Not to mention the disgraceful treatment of our former Labour MP.
“My aim has only ever been to make the grass-roots membership feel empowered and that they have a voice.
“I have stayed in the party with this goal despite the disaster of our European Union policy, slashing international aid or cutting disabled people’s income support.
“I always felt at least that member’s voices could be heard through the local party units, for example, the branch and CLP passed policy motions on all these issues after talking with residents about what matters to them.
“The Labour Party should be a grass-roots party – it always was. However, I no longer feel safe attending either branch meetings or CLP meetings and, no matter how much free voluntary time we give, the abuse never ends.
“I had hoped that by becoming CLP secretary again in October that I could start to bring members together.
“It is now clear that this was naïve. For one example, when I raised the issue of standing up to Reform Brighton and Hove’s explicit anti-semitic attacks on Zack Polanski and Ed Miliband (emphasising we needed to put aside party political differences to do so), I was ignored with individuals privately saying they were too worried about publicly backing me.
“This is no way to run a political party. As someone with Jewish heritage, it distressed me that local Labour were unwilling to stand against such vile hate speech.
“It is clear to me that I am no longer welcome in the Labour Party. The party no longer values democratic debate, nor does it value a diversity of opinion or backgrounds.
“Historically, appeasement of fascism and a refusal to confront it head-on has only ever led to fascist leaders taking power.
“The only party currently prepared to call a fascist a fascist, while at the same time presenting a vision of hope, is the Green Party.
“I have therefore joined the Green Party of England and Wales and will be campaigning for Brighton and Hove Green Party going forwards. I urge you to help make hope normal again and join the Greens as well.”
The local Labour Party in Brighton and Hove is clearly in free-fall
Bella Sankey can put out as many Argus columns she likes about how important it is to be united against hate, but when those in the know within the Labour Party make clear the local Labour Party’s words are just hollow, and they resolutely refuse to stand united about incidents of hate speech and antisemitism levelled at other politicians, we can see them for what they are – just words.
Well done Aaron for speaking out about the local party’s “bullying and slander against good people” going “unchecked and unconfronted”
Hilarious, good luck with the fruit loops in the Green Party. You lot derstroyed the city through neglect and idealogical schernes nobody wanted. Now you’ve turned on your own Labour party as they didn’t want your buddy anymore and you are still moaning about a Halloween thing which sane people saw as a Halloween post and that’s all, even the Jewish communities said was not anti-semitic. Zack was a hypnotist wearing a palestine flag – hence the hypnotist image and then the other is the Count from Sesame St on a bicycle with the Chancellor (cos she can’t count! – apparently kids tv puppets are anti-semitic). Desperate. Good luck to you – Labour will not miss you!
Which bit of the city has been destroyed? Genuine interest.
Thanks Pete S for clearing up that bullying and slander has no place in the local Labour Party and a safe and welcoming place to work. Can think why any one would leave for the greens given your comment.
Odd how he gives his reasons for resigning, and you clap back at him with a perfect example of the sort of attitude he spoke of. We thank you for your confirmation of that attitude and proof that he wasn’t making it all up.
The next general election is going to be a case for vote labour, get reform.
The Green party are the only party standing up to the wealth inequality at the root of most of the UK’s problems, including migration.
One only need look at the figures of 250,000 brits having left the UK over the past 12 months, and another 250,000 in the 12 months before, to understand that 38,000 people arriving by boat is the least of our problems.
This country is going to be wiped out in a generation if millennials and gen Z continue to be outcompeted for homes by elites, property collectors and wealth hoarders, while being attacked by NIMBYs at every turn.
We can not afford to continue losing British people to other countries at this rate. We need homes, we need jobs, lots of them, fast, or there won’t be an NHS or state pension for much longer as the workforce is in collapse, along with birth rates.
We begin by taxing wealth above £10m at 2% (which over 85% of millionaires polled by survation agreed with), and a 4% wealth tax above 1 billion. It is incorrect to say that it would cause capital flight, most of these people are getting returns of 14% by parking their money in property and stocks while producing absolutely nothing to the economy or upkeep of society.
Labour are going to have to decide to either stand aside at the next general election or hand the government over to racist elites who will destroy the country, with a green opposition powerless to do anything about it thanks to Starmer and his feckless replacement.
Vote Green
I agree with you on the core issue; housing and long term inequality are doing far more damage to this country than whatever the headline of the week is. The data is really clear that lack of supply, stagnant wages, and the skewed tax system are holding back a whole generation.
Where I think the picture is different from how you’ve framed it is the idea that on vote-splitting. Virtually all the academic modelling so far shows Reform drawing almost entirely from disaffected Conservative voters. If anything, Labour being competitive is what keeps Reform out of power.
On wealth taxation, there’s definitely a conversation to be had. I’m personally supportive of more progressive property and wealth taxation. But every serious review also makes clear it wouldn’t come close to funding the scale of housing or NHS investment on its own. We still need planning reform, land value capture, and proper devolution, which, to be fair, is exactly where the current government is directionally heading.
Greens play an important role in the debate, no question. But under FPTP they cannot form or lead the legislative programme that delivers the kind of structural changes you’re talking about. That’s just the maths of the system, not a judgement on them.
For me, the route to dealing with wealth inequality, housing supply, and rebuilding the social contract still involves Labour in government, pushed in the right direction by evidence and by communities.
Vote Labour, Get Labour.
If you’re leaving Labour because it stifles democratic debate you’ll love your new friends at Bristol city Council where the green councillors walk out when gender critical women try to have a discussion with them
The Greens are no more public spirited than Labour and even more hard left.
Good luck with that.
Out of the frying pan and into the mire