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Labour deliver on pre-election commitment to engage with communities

New council committees reflect the need for homes, jobs and community engagement.

Cllr Warren Morgan
Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, Cllr Warren Morgan

A new council committee has been created, as promised by Labour and Co-operative prior to the local elections, bringing together community safety with neighbourhood initiatives and equalities as part of a new structure of decision-making for Brighton & Hove City Council.

The 10-member Neighbourhoods, Communities and Equalities Committee will champion the role of communities and make it easier for local people to get involved, including the possibility of devolving power and services to neighbourhoods.

The committee will focus on increasing equality – two of its central remits are to tackle street homelessness and to introduce a Fairness Commission looking at improving equality for everyone in the city.

The Committee, to be chaired by Emma Daniel, councillor for Hanover and Elm Grove, will take on the work of the former Community Safety Forum and make decisions about investment and support to community and voluntary sector groups.

Two other committees have been renamed to indicate a greater emphasis on employment skills and the urgent need for new affordable homes.

Tom Bewick, councillor for Westbourne, will chair the Children, Young People and Skills Committee, while Anne Meadows, councillor for Moulsecoomb & Bevendean will chair the Housing and New Homes Committee.

Councillor Warren Morgan, the new leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, said: “The new committees are designed to directly reflect the concerns and aspirations of our communities. Bringing together community safety and neighbourhood issues under the umbrella of one committee will give them the focussed attention they deserve. We’re looking forward to having a real dialogue with people and ensuring our services and decisions reflect the needs of people in their areas and in the wider city.”

Under the new minority administration Cllr Morgan will chair both the Policy & Resources Committee and the Economic Development & Culture Committee.

Leslie Hamilton, the councillor for South Portslade, will be lead member for finance and resources.

Other major forums include:

♦ Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee, chaired by Cllr Gill Mitchell and the

♦ Health and Wellbeing Board, chaired by councillor Dan Yates. Councillor Karen Barford, the new lead member for adult social care, will also be a member of the Board and Cllr Caroline Penn, who has special responsibility for mental health, will be able to attend and speak.

♦ Councillor Mo Marsh will chair Licensing Committee.

♦ Councillor Julie Cattell will chair Planning Committee.

The new make-up of the council was confirmed at full council on Thursday, May 21.

REVIEW: Marlborough: Miss Behave’s Gameshow

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The premise of this show is that the most important division in the world isn’t male and female or gay and straight but those who own iPhones and the rest of us. As we enter the confines of the Marlborough the audience is split into these two rival factions and then the games commence. Some utilise the hi-tec features of your smartphone, others depend on analogue versions of popular digital hits (without giving too much away their version of Candy Crush involves some confectionary and a large mallet).

This bitter rivalry is presided over by the wondrous Miss Behave, everyone’s favourite Bohemian aunt. A vision in sparkly couture topped with a glittery turban, she whips up the participants into a competitive frenzy as they do seemingly anything to get points for their team. She’s ably assisted by Harriet (Harry Clayton Wright) a vision of loveliness in leather-effect hot pants and bottle top glasses. The two fearless performers unleash such rounds as ‘Porn You’d Admit To’ or the awesome ‘Do Anything for a Point’ which results in poor Harriet almost being subjected to a sex attack.

It’s all infectiously raucous and somehow manages to get us to be genuinely aggrieved when a point in knocked off our score at the whim of Miss Behave. It’s sweet, short – it clocks in at just over an hour – and, like its two stars, is completely adorable.

Last show tonight, May 24, at 21.00.

For more information and tickets click here.

PREVIEW: ‘Sinderfella’ The Alternative Panto at Sallis Benney Theatre

Naughty adult entertainment returns to Brighton in February 2016 when Southern Entertainments will be producing 16 performances of The Alternative Panto Sinderfella at the Sallis Benney Theatre.

Sinderfella

STAGED by Quintin Young and directed with an outrageous script written by Andrew Stark, and musical direction provided by Marc Yarrow the musical director of the Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus.

The following performers have signed on the dotted line and are confimed to appear.

Oh no they’re not! Oh yes they are!………..

♦ Miss Jason as Sinderfella

♦ Lola Lasagne and Dave Lynn as the ugly sisters

♦ Davina Sparkle as Fairy Sparkle

♦ Allan Jay as Buttocks,

♦ Cassidy Connors as the Prince

♦ Christopher Howard as Baron Hardon

♦ Jason Lee as Dandini

and a special magical appearance by Maisie Trollette

More announcements are in the pipe line.

To book tickets online, click here:

Or telephone: 01273 709 709

Sinderfella

Gay councillor to lead Greens on City Council

The Green Group of Councillors on Brighton and Hove City Council announce their team of spokespeople after losing control of the city council.

Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty
Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty

SIX of the nine-strong team held positions of responsibility during the Green’s recent four-year term in administration, while their three newly elected colleagues bring fresh experience to the mix.

The Green Group convenor, Phélim Mac Cafferty, said: “We will do our utmost to ensure that the administration remains accountable and looks forward. Wherever necessary, we will protect our rich legacy of city renewal and regeneration, fairness and environmental protection.

“We fought as the administration for a city which was fairer and more equal and have a long list of wins including keeping every library open, the regeneration of key parts of the city and introducing a living wage which has put £1.5m back into the pockets of working people. We will continue to push against austerity and continue our excellent work on creating a more sustainable city.

“We look forward, with our new team of councillors, and offer a rich mix of experience and fresh energy which will be a great asset to the Council and the city alike.”

Phélim Mac Cafferty: Green Group Convenor and Spokesperson on Planning.
Phélim is councillor in Brunswick & Adelaide. During the Green administration he was both Deputy Leader and chair of the Planning committee, leading on regeneration. He was the political architect of the City Plan, which scoped out the development of the city to 2030, and he led on key equalities work such as trans equality.

♦ Cllr. Pete West:  Deputy Mayor and Spokesperson on Environment, Transport & Sustainability (ETS).
First elected in 1996, Pete West was the Green Party’s first councillor in Sussex. Under the Green administration he was chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability committee and led on the regeneration of the Level. Cllr. West is also being put forward as Deputy Mayor for the coming year, which means he will serve as Mayor the following year, from May 2016, twenty years after he first became a councillor.

♦ Cllr. Alex Phillips: Deputy convenor (external communications) and Spokesperson on Children, Young People & Skills.
Alex Phillips was first elected as councillor for Goldsmid in 2009 and was recently re-elected for Regency with her husband Tom Druitt.  She is a trained teacher and led the failed coup to replace the former leaders of the council, Jason Kitcat.

♦ Cllr. Lizzie Deane: Joint deputy convenor (internal communications) and Spokesperson on Licensing.
Lizzie Deane was re-elected for St Peters & North Laine ward with 5,026 votes, the largest for any BHCC councillor ever recorded. During the Green administration she was deputy chair of licensing.

♦ Cllr. Louisa Greenbaum: Joint deputy convenor (internal communications).
A new councillor in St Peters and North Laine, Louisa is an experienced environmental campaigner who works part-time for the Green Party. She has two daughters.

♦ Cllr. Ollie Sykes: Spokesperson on Finance.
Councillor for Brunswick & Adelaide, Ollie Sykes was the finance lead during the Green administration and says he opened up the process for developing the budget to an unprecedented level of transparency and public consultation.

♦ Cllr. David Gibson: Spokesperson on Housing & New Homes.
David Gibson, a new councillor for Hanover & Elm Grove, has been a community worker and housing campaigner for many years and recently set up the Living Rent Campaign to address insecurity and inflated rents in the private rented sector. He also set up Hanover Action for Sustainable Living (HASL).

♦ Cllr. Leo Littman: Spokesperson on Neighbourhoods, Communities & Equality.
Brighton, born & bred, Leo Littman, a councillor for Preston Park, is also an Open University Lecturer in Environment Studies and Developmental Psychology. During the Green administration he was Chair of the Governance Committee, Deputy Chair of Policy & Resources and Deputy Chair of the Children & Young People committee. He was also the Council’s Black & Minority Ethnic communities Champion.

♦ Cllr. Tom Druitt: Spokesperson on Economic Development & Culture.
Tom Druitt, with his wife Cllr. Phillips, is a new councillor for Regency ward. He heads the Big Lemon bus company which has a fleet of bright yellow coaches and buses which run on recycled cooking oil from local restaurants.

Brighton Naked Bike Ride returns in June

On Sunday, June 14, the tenth annual Brighton Naked Bike Ride will pedal through the city, in celebration of bikes, body power and low-carbon living.

(c) copyright 2013 Chris Wright / electricalimage.com
(c) copyright 2013 Chris Wright / electricalimage.com

ONE of over 50 World Naked Bike Ride events around the globe – including ten in the UK – the event aims to highlight the vulnerability of cyclists and the environment, set against the destructive effects of over a billion oil-dependent vehicles dominating urban spaces, and accounting for a sixth of global carbon emissions.

Environmental campaigner and co-organiser Duncan Blinkhorn, said: “The World Naked Bike Ride has become a great Brighton tradition – a light-hearted and liberating protest that brings cheers and smiles in its wake. Brighton & Hove has made huge progress in becoming less car dependent and more bike friendly since our first ride in 2006. However, the UK and most of the world has a long way to go to reduce CO2 emissions by over 80 percent, to avoid climate catastrophe by 2050. 2015 is a critical year: in December a global climate summit will be hosted in Paris. The world will be looking to its leaders to deliver more decisive action and ensure that fossil fuels are kept in their place – in the ground! A group of us will be cycling from Brighton to Paris to join thousands of others making that very point, and pushing for a more urgent shift to renewable energy.”

He added: “The World Naked Bike Ride aims to be fun, empowering and inclusive, with participants invited to ride ‘as bare as you dare’. It shows how much less vulnerable you can feel when cycling en masse – even if you’re stark naked – and offers a cheery vision of what a cycling city can look like.”

Up to a thousand riders are expected to assemble at The Level park (BN2 3FX) in central Brighton at 12 noon on Sunday , June 14.

Participants are encouraged to decorate their bikes and bodies with environmental messages.

The procession, accompanied by a fleet of sound systems, will head off at 1.30pm. It will pass several of the city’s iconic sites including the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Pier, seafront, Lanes, North Laine and the gay village in Brighton Kemptown before finishing at Black Rock naturist beach.

The event is part of national Bike Week and participation is free.

To find out more about the event and how to take part, click here:

UK Support for same-sex marriage rises

New findings published by NatCen Social Research today show that three in five Brits support the right of same-sex couples to marry if they want to.

British Social Attitudes SurveyTHE results from NatCen’s, British Social Attitudes survey show 60% of Brits now back same-sex marriage, a significant increase from 47% in 2007.

The biggest rise in support across Britain comes from those who ‘strongly agree’ with same-sex couples’ right to marry, increasing from 17% in 2007 to 31% in 2014.

Notably, there was a 5 percentage point increase from 2013 and 2014 after the first marriages had taken place.

Same-sex marriage became legal in England and Wales in March 2014 and then in Scotland in December 2014. The Republic of Ireland held a referendum at the end of last week to decide whether or not to legalise the institution, voting in favour by 62% to 38%.

Despite the increased showing of support across society as whole findings from BSA also identified a number of groups where support remains less than half:

·         Political support: 49% of Conservative supporters agreed with same-sex marriage, compared to nearly two thirds of Labour supporters (65%) and over 3 in 4 (77%) of Liberal Democrats.

·         Religious affiliation: Just 47% of those in the Church of England / Anglicans agreed same-sex couples should have the right to marry compared with 77% of those with no religion.

·         Education: Only 46% of people with no qualifications support same-sex marriage, compared to 73% of those with degrees.

Naomi Jones
Naomi Jones

Naomi Jones, Co-head of Attitudes at NatCen Social Research, said: “There’s a consensus amongst the majority of the British public that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry like anyone else. Predictably, it’s those groups considered more socially conservative where support remains less than half.

“The notable bump in support since the first same-sex marriages in 2014 suggests that the public may see the introduction of legislation as a moral endorsement by the state.”

Lifeguards take up their posts on Brighton beaches

Teams of lifeguards have taken up their posts on Brighton & Hove’s beaches this bank holiday weekend as the city prepares for the summer season.

Cllr Alan Robins (Labour, South Portslade) with the new lifeguard team. Photographer Alan Steeden
Cllr Alan Robins (Labour, South Portslade) with the new lifeguard team. Photographer Alan Steeden

30 new recruits have joined the council’s seafront team, to ensure millions of visitors enjoy a safe and happy time on the beach this summer.

The new lifeguards have spent this week preparing for the summer season, when they will patrol the city’s beaches along from the Marina to Hove Lagoon.

The team, of male and female lifeguards, have all successfully completed a beach lifeguard qualification and a week-long induction course acquiring a wide range of skills from accessing sea and weather conditions and dealing with beach hazards, to carrying out first aid and water rescues.

During an average year Brighton & Hove’s lifeguards carry out more than 100 water rescues, and save many lives.

They administer first aid to around 250 beach goers, give safety advice to around 10,000 people and reunite hundreds of lost children with their families.

The lifeguards, easy to spot in their red and yellow uniforms, will be on duty each day from 9.30am to 7pm, supporting the council’s year round seafront team.

Cllr Alan Robins
Cllr Alan Robins

Councillor Alan Robins, deputy chair of the Economic Development and Culture Committee, said: “Once again we are delighted to have recruited a dedicated team of lifeguards to patrol our popular beaches.

“The new lifeguards are committed to supporting our regular seafront officers in ensuring the millions of visitors from all over the world who flock to our beaches every summer return home safe and happy.”

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