Labour has selected the party’s candidate for the Queen’s Park by-election which is due to take place on Thursday 24 September.
Steve Gladwin, 61, a former NHS worker and journalist, was chosen at a meeting last night (Thursday 20 August) to run for the vacant seat on Brighton and Hove City Council.
Mr Gladwin said that he would focus on tackling the cost of living, particularly pensioner and fuel poverty, and make this a central focus of Labour’s campaign in the ward.
He said: “Behind the grand facades around Queen’s Park itself are communities facing some of the worst relative poverty in the city. That is being felt particularly hard by pensioners and families struggling to pay their bills.
“I want to be a councillor who is visible, accessible and focused on the issues that make a real difference to people’s lives.”
Mr Gladwin, who previously ran a successful small business, said that supporting Brighton and Hove’s economy would also be a priority.
He said: “As well as direct help and advice to those struggling, we have to make sure Brighton and Hove is thriving as a city – and economic regeneration is one of my key drivers.”
Mr Gladwin lives locally and spent nearly 30 years working in the NHS, including as an executive director with several NHS trusts.
Earlier in his career, he worked in local government and as a journalist in Brighton and Hove, including as political editor of the Argus in its heyday. He retired from the NHS earlier this summer.
The Labour leader of the council, Bella Sankey, said: “Over the last three years, we’ve worked hard to improve things for Queen’s Park residents – from refurbishing the children’s playground and the public loos to road resurfacing and rolling out landlord licensing to give more rights to renters. But we know there is so much more to do.”
Councillor Sankey added: “At a time when many within Queen’s Park are struggling with the cost of living, they deserve a councillor who will turn up, get stuck in and put the ward first. They have that person in Steve – and I’m excited to get the campaign started.”
The party said: “Labour has a strong track record of delivery in Queen’s Park and across Brighton and Hove since winning a majority on the council in May 2023.
“From the largest rollout of solar panels in the council’s history to the introduction of new neighbourhood officers to provide support to residents in social housing, Labour has been putting people and the climate first.”.
The by-election – the third in the two-member ward in 18 months – was called when Labour councillor Milla Gauge resigned her seat on the council two weeks ago.
She said that the council was not doing enough to protect children who were confused about their gender identity.
Councillor Sankey responded by saying that she had “persisted in making generalised accusations” but had been “unable to point to a specific safeguarding concerns resulting from the council’s trans inclusive approach”.
The resulting by-election is the eighth since the local elections in May 2023, all caused by the resignation of Labour councillors. The party has retained five of the seats and the Greens have won three.
After the local elections, Labour had 38 out of the 54 seats. It now has 31. The Greens had seven but now have 11, including a former Labour councillor who became an Independent before switching to the Greens.
Two councillors elected as Labour candidates at the 2023 local elections now sit as Independents as does one former Conservative. The Tories have yet to announce their candidate.
A hustings is due to take place at St Luke’s Church Hall on Thursday 17 September from 7pm to 8.30pm. The chance to put questions to the candidates has been organised by the non-political St Luke’s Residents’ Association.
More of the same from Labour. Continuity Starmer.
Except Starmer isn’t in charge any more and the focus is now on improving communities and support with the cost of living. Other parties talk the talk but have not offered anything locally. Just the usual, we are not Labour. They have been worse, vanity projects, i360 debt, introducing tuition fees, trashing the economy and introducing austerity.
Personally, I think Labour are improving day by day and our city is benefiting from grown ups looking after it for once.
Your optimism is to be commended albeit not a view that seems to be held by many based on the three years since 2023….
In the spirit of Oscar Wilde:
“To lose one councillor may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose eight looks like carelessness.”
Queen’s Park residents deserve a councillor and a leader who take safeguarding seriously. The number of children in Sussex being funnelled to WellBN should have raised alarm bells at B&H council and East & West Sussex councils, and made councillors consider their own roles.
The funding of Allsorts (£250k last year from the 3 Sussex councils) and a culture that victimises anyone who refuses to swallow gender ideology is surely one of the main drivers of this epidemic?
Concerns were raised and I believe an investigation has just concluded. It’s important to have the full context and for the findings examined constructively.
Concerns and complaints about systemic safeguarding issues across many BHCC services have been raised for many years, WellBN is simply a most recent example.
And don’t forget why this bi-election is necessary too….
“ The by-election – the third in the two-member ward in 18 months – was called when Labour councillor Milla Gauge resigned her seat on the council two weeks ago.
She said that the council was not doing enough to protect children who were confused about their gender identity”
Steve Gladwin’s professional background makes his position on the WellBN affair and Milla’s reason for resigning particularly interesting.
Given his NHS experience, and as a member of the executive and editorial team at CEPiP, where evidence, careful assessment, clinical risk and the particular difficulties of treating children and adolescents are plainly relevant, I would hope he would recognise the importance of professional curiosity and organisational learning.
That creates an interesting question for the new Labour candidate. Will he take seriously the safeguarding implications of what happened at WellBN and support an independent review of the wider local system — including schools, Council services and their relationships with healthcare?
Or will he simply repeat the Council leadership’s position that the NHS investigation is the end of the matter?
The former would seem much more consistent with the principles of evidence-based safeguarding. Luckily Queen’s Park voters will have an opportunity to ask him.
He may be a perfectly nice chap but what he is promising will not be in his gift to deliver.
Plus it his his party which has made the nation so broke and betrayed farmers, British businesses, Waspi’s, pensioners. landlords and others
It is his party which is prioritising other countries’ wars, immigration, data centres, digital ID, surveillance technology and active travel schemes over spending British taxes to fund the needs of British people from schools, courts and the NHS to town and city infrastructure and national food and fuel security. The tories can take some of the blame but Labour have been carrying on the damage ever since and at ever greater pace, if Labour are claiming to be better.
I would argue that Tory austerity inflicted most of the damage and that’s why it’s been difficult to get back on a sound footing.
Every recent Green council candidate has said they will sort out, what are nationally controlled issues when they cannot and pretty much silent on local issues.
At least Labour are doing things despite much still to be done. Better nurse than worse.
Oh, you should keep a slightly more open mind, Katy! We love Steve and Kerry on our patch – Greens who genuinely care about and deliver for our community. It’s also been rather nice to have some continuity, rather than the seemingly endless resignations, defections and by-elections we’ve seen from Brighton Labour.
Do you have any insight into what’s actually going wrong within the local Labour group? From the outside, so much of the recent drama seems entirely self-inflicted and rather self-absorbed. Given the number of councillors Labour has lost since 2023, surely there must be more to it than simple bad luck?
Good points. Labour are not known as the ‘Poverty Party’ for nothing.
They are? First I’ve ever heard that one.
We don’t want another person imposed, we need a councillor embedded in the community and ward. Every candidate Labour have selected for Queens Park has either lied, was imposed or has cleared off!
This ward deserve better than a journalist and NHS Communications Manager / Director.
How long has he lived in Brighton / in the Queen’s Park ward?
See he was a former comms person at councils, they gatekeep and spread fake news.
Say no to labour Queens Park! I will be!
Care to evidence your accusations? A leopard doesn’t change its spots.
Will Mr Gladwin prevent his party from privatising the sea front paddling pool – one of the few free seaside activities left for low income families – when Ms Sankey can be bothered to open it?
https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2026/08/21/council-asks-private-operators-to-bid-to-run-seafront-paddling-pool/
It is a shame really because he has obviously not been filled in on the issues in Queens Park and has not realized that residents concerns and issues are and go directly against the leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, . So it will end up being another by-election, I would imagine, if Labour gets Queens Park this time.
I suppose it depends how quick the scandal breaks regarding the Labour Party in Brighton and the conflict going on within the party. Especially as some of the councillors within the cabinet are not seen as being tribal enough.
This is new info for me. Not surprising. Would love to hear more
You might think this old aristocrat is entirely half baked, but I assure you I know exactly why these Brighton councillors are crumbling. The chocolate-coated Iron Lady Bella Sankey and her deputy Jacob Taylor have turned what should be a sweet, minty mix into a thoroughly hostile environment.
This upper-crust leadership simply turns up the heat and screams at anyone who isn’t a total yes-man or yes-woman, leaving the rest of the team feeling utterly toasted.
When any member refuses to join their exclusive club, act like a mindless cream cracker, or stand tough as Brighton rock against their demands, the leadership’s fierce temper mints a toxic atmosphere that causes everyone’s patience to snap like a fragile wafer.
Well, Viscount Biscuit, that’s quite the assortment – although beneath all the crumbs, you seem to be making a fairly serious point.
Given the number of resignations, defections and fallings-out within Brighton Labour since 2023, it does increasingly feel as though there may be more going on behind the scenes than has emerged publicly.
You sound as though you know rather more about it. Are you suggesting that the leadership style has been a significant factor in some of those departures? And, if so, can you share any more specifics?
The Duchess is intrigued…
My dear Countess,
You have hit the sweet spot. It is a poorly kept secret in the pantry that our local Labour leaders are running a rather autocratic operation. There is a distinct atmosphere of industrial over-kneading going on behind closed doors at Brighton & Hove Town Halls.
Before any public vote, our chocolate-coated Iron Lady, Bella Sankey, gathers the backbenchers for a mandatory pre-bake. The team is completely forbidden from thinking for themselves; everyone is expected to stay uniform in the tin like a mass-produced multipack.
If any councillor dares to show a bit of independent yeast, they are utterly shouted down, muzzled, and scorched until they melt back into line. It isn’t consensus, Countess – it’s a high- pressure kitchen where they turn the heat up until dissenters simply snap like a fragile wafer.
The truth is, our ambitious chefs aren’t really focused on Brighton’s local appetite. They are looking to rise up the national political ladder, using our city as a mere stepping stone to bake themselves a much bigger cake in Westminster. Because of these grand designs, they have become absolute Jammy Dodgers when it comes to public scrutiny:
The In-Group Club: The Deputy Leader Jacob has established a very exclusive Club. If you aren’t part of this tight inner-circle assortment, your views are treated like worthless Cream Crackers. They hold private huddles to slice up policy, leaving ordinary residents and outside councillors completely starved of information.
The King Alfred Crumble: Look at the King Alfred Leisure Centre redevelopment. A mountain of residents raised perfectly crisp, valid objections to the blatant flaws in the plans. Did the leadership listen? Not a bit. They simply snapped those concerns in half like brittle Twiglets, dismissed the public, and pushed a half-baked project through anyway.
Hidden Ingredients: To top it all off, they are systematically keeping the public on a low-information diet. Crucial data is actively concealed from scrutiny, and they have repeatedly given misleading statements rather than disclosing the true facts. They are treating serious public governance like a tray of Jaffa Cakes – telling the public it’s a healthy fruit biscuit when beneath the surface it’s just a spongy, secretive mess.
Crushing the Multi-Pack: If any backbencher resists being compressed into a mindless Mini Cheddar and tries to think independently for their ward, the environment becomes entirely hostile.
It is a tough Hobnob of a situation for anyone who isn’t a total yes-man or yes-woman. They want a monochrome Oreo party, where everyone is either completely black or white, with no room for grey areas. Anyone with a shortbread backbone simply crumbles under the pressure. The leadership expects their cabinet to be as rigid as a stiff Bourbon, marching like a row of loyal Garibaldis, while treating the public’s intelligence like a cheap, discounted cookie. When a leadership values a glossy packet and personal career promotion over the actual quality of the local bake, the whole batch inevitably spoils. The departures we are seeing are simply the councillors who refuse to be packaged into a silent, pre-baked multi-pack.
Yours dunkingly,
Viscount Biscuit
Electing Councillor Marina Lademacher has been the best decision we’ve made, I say this as a long-standing resident of Queen’s Park. She’s helped me when I had an issue in my block, was regular in correspondence and checking in with me since. I spoke to a neighbour who said they’ve also been helped greatly by Cllr Lademacher. I don’t know how she has the time or energy to help so many of us in the ward- especially as just a young woman (I believe she’s only 22). I am ready and willing to vote for Marina’s friend this time round Mr Mark Strong!
So spoke the Green Party press machine. Marina may be active in the ward but I have observed online in committee meetings and she gets up and leaves half way through. So not that committed.
She may be well intentioned but still naive when it comes to running a council. Somewhat dependent on the inept Steve Davis. The group has little to no experience and tanked the city’s finances to the tune of £50million over the i360 and other vanity projects that were rejected in 2023.
Oh Katy, “Green Party press machine” did make me smile! Given how quickly you jump in to defend Brighton Labour whenever anyone criticises them – and to have another pop at the Greens – perhaps you should tell us whether you have any connection to the local Labour Party yourself? Pot and kettle springs to mind!
You also seem to have rather neatly sidestepped the questions people have asked you in return about Labour. I’m still genuinely interested in your take on what’s going on. Why so many resignations, defections and by-elections since 2023? You clearly follow local politics closely, so what do you think has gone so wrong inside Brighton Labour?
Maybe the Green Candidate can explain why their Councillors wasted £51MILLION of PUBLIC MONEY on a LOSS MAKING scheme rather than investing in social rent homes and essential infrastructure.
My dear Viscount,
Firstly, a small matter of aristocratic protocol: Duchess, if you please, not Countess. One does have standards, even when conversing in the biscuit tin.
That is quite an account. Beneath an impressive quantity of crumbs, though, you are painting a pretty striking picture of how the Labour group is being run.
What particularly interests the Duchess is whether this is informed pantry gossip or whether you have direct knowledge of what happens behind those closed doors. The suggestion that councillors are being shouted down or pressured into supporting positions they disagree with would certainly provide some context for the remarkable number of departures and defections we’ve seen.
And the point about councillors being expected to put the party line ahead of representing their individual wards is particularly interesting. Surely local councillors should occasionally disagree with their own leadership – otherwise what exactly is the point of electing individuals rather than simply voting for a coloured rosette?
So, Viscount, without asking you to reveal anything you shouldn’t: how much of this do you actually know first-hand? And do you think there are more crumbs still to fall from the Brighton Labour biscuit tin?
Yours, with the appropriate ducal seniority,
The Duchess
It is possible to be thoughtful, kind and supportive to transgender individuals and aware of potential risks for, say, women and children. There is a balance to be achieved, but locally things seem out of kilter. We know, for example, that most heterosexual men are not monsters, but our safeguarding policies are designed to protect vulnerable individuals from those who do pose a real danger. Likewise, few trans individuals pose a threat, but safeguarding rules should be applied fairly and properly, relying on the same precautionary principles. The council seems to want blindspots. This will hurt not help the trans community.
Let’s also remind ourselves that transgender individuals are overwhelmingly more victims then perpetrators. I agree with the idea of balance, unfortunately, there’s a lot of bigotry that attempts to frame transgender people as being sexual deviants by default, when the reality simply doesn’t match that.
Plus, I think it’s also good to remember, we have a very vocal group of people on both sides, both wanting very specific outcomes. Can sometimes skew the picture!