In a city where collaboration and partnership have very strong roots I’m very proud to have been elected as leader of the city council.
It’s an amazing honour to have the confidence of my fellow councillors, especially when the city faces so many challenges over the next few years. I will endeavour to make sure I live up to their expectations – which are naturally high.
Without working in partnership with public sector organisations, the community and voluntary sector and the city as a whole, then the services that the council delivers for our residents will be disjointed, less effective and fail to fully solve the issues of the city.
Our partners’ wide range of skills, knowledge and resources enhances the potential to create a positive city, where innovation, creation and diversity have always been so highly valued.
By working alongside these partners, the range and scope of the solutions and ambitions only get larger, the positives only grow, and those benefits are felt by the whole city.
Exactly the same is true of councillors themselves. When political groups put their party political differences aside and use their combined talents to the best effect, they can truly deliver the solutions the city needs and the services it values.
It is all too easy to fall back into yah-boo politics but, in these difficult times with limited resources and significant challenges, we really need more and more to work collaboratively. As leader of the Labour and Co-operative administration on the city council I am genuinely open to suggestions.
Whether good suggestions come from councillors of another political persuasion or from residents and communities, it is always worth listening, thinking and reflecting on each and every suggestion.
If we fail to listen we fail to learn. This city is so great at partnership working let’s make sure we fully harness the benefits that this approach can deliver even in the most difficult forums (like the council chamber)
So I would like to make this pledge to the city – I want to lead a city council that listens, that responds, that works with others, and most of all that makes a better Brighton and Hove, and Portslade, for us all to enjoy.
