Independent Party Announces Two Local Election Candidates For Brighton & Hove

A new political party has announced two candidates for the local elections in Brighton and Hove in May.

The Friends of Brighton and Hove plans to field Laura King and Nigel Furness who have been to numerous council meetings to quiz councillors on various issues.

Ms King is expected to stand for election to Brighton and Hove City Council in Hanover and Elm Grove ward which is currently represented by three Green councillors.

And Mr Furness has his sights on Central Hove ward where both seats are currently held by Labour.

Ms King said that Hanover and Elm Grove was the area where her mother grew up, adding:

“I have known and loved the ward and its vibrant community spirit all my life, with family still here.

“I am anti-LTN (low-traffic neighbourhood) but pro-sensible road safety improvements which come from the residents themselves rather than being imposed by a council whose job it is to run the city, not the citizens.

“I am also passionate about keeping Brighton General in the community as a community asset.”

Mr Furness has stood for election in Central Hove ward twice before but without success.

He grew up in the ward and his parents were married in the Sacred Heart Church, in Norton Road, before joining the war effort in the Middle East in 1940.

Mr Furness said:

“Politicians of the three main parties have presided over the demise of this once proud ward in recent years and seemingly done nothing of benefit to the residents.

“They’ve spent their time grandstanding on gesture politics regarding national issues while the King Alfred and our seafront have suffered deliberate dereliction, the ever-present threat to our beloved Carnegie Library still hovers and our town hall remains as hostile and forbidding as the Kremlin.”

One of the current Central Hove councillors, Clare Moonan, is stepping down in May after eight years while the other, Gary Wilkinson, is to stand in the new Kemptown ward in Brighton.

Labour has chosen a former Hanover and Elm Grove councillor, Emma Daniel, and Joy Robinson, a member of the party’s South East Regional Executive Committee.

The Greens have picked Helen Dixon, who teaches at Sussex University, and former Green councillor Christopher Hawtree who stepped down because he had been chosen to stand for Parliament in Hove.

In Hanover and Elm Grove, which has three councillors, another new party is fielding a candidate. Bev Barstow is standing for the Brighton and Hove Independents.

Sitting Green councillor Steph Powell is expected to run again alongside Wai Lee and Fiona Wright while Labour has picked Ty Galvin, Tim Rowkins and Maureen Winder.

Polling day is on Thursday 4 May when all 54 seats will be contested in 23 wards – up from 21 wards last time because of a boundary review.
The election will be the first at which votes will be required to have photo ID such as a driving licence or a voter authority certificate.

The Friends of Brighton and Hove has set up a Facebook page and Twitter account @FriendsofBandH.