‘Labour to end youth unemployment’

Local government reporter NEIL VOWLES reports on how each party aims to tip the balance of the council in their favour in what promises to be a knife-edge election.

Recycling

Warren Morgan, Labour, [WM]: The assumption is that everybody would recycle but people need to be encouraged and cajoled, but we need to use a carrot and stick approach.

Under a Labour administration, refuse and recycling will be moved from the environment and transport committee and put into policy and resources with the leader of that committee responsible for it on a month-by-month basis to make sure that we get it right.

Geoffrey Theobald, Conservative, [GT]: I don’t think that will make a difference.

We will transform City Clean into a John Lewis style cooperative and we will ensure that street cleaning is coordinated with refuse collection.

WM: A true cooperative is more than 50% owned by its staff.

Geoffrey is talking about a cooperative solution for City Clean of which 10% will be owned by staff and ten months after whoever owns the remaining 90% will buy them out.

Patricia Mountain, Ukip, [PM]: We did support the action [binmen strike in 2013]. We would like to be in the council and we would like to address the City Clean management and make them fit for purpose.

Paul Chandler, Lib Dem, [LD]: It’s amazing to hear Ukip and Caroline Lucas in complete agreement for the first time.

Sue Shanks, Green, [SS]: At the moment we don’t recycle green waste, that is something we would like to do.

We proposed to recycle food waste but it was voted down.

The recycling rates are quite different because we don’t recycle things that other people do.

It is like comparing potatoes and apples.

We want to bring in wheelie bins to do more recycling and we are one of the only authorities to do weekly waste collection and we would move to change that.

WM: It wasn’t voted down Sue, you lost the bid for the project.

Old People Care

SS: I have friends at the moment with elderly parents they are having to care for often in other parts of the country.

One of the issues about the NHS is that we are very proud of our main hospitals and acute care but don’t invest in services in the community.

There has been a massive reduction in the number of district nurses in the past five years.

We need to redress the balance, not by stopping acute care, but by investing in preventative care.

PM: There are people in retirement age, people who are still fit and healthy and still want to go out and work, but there are a lot of tax implications which means people say ‘what’s the point of me working in old age’.

Mental Health Services

PM: I have got the greatest respect for people who suffer from mental health problems.

It is not right to move people away from their homes and make it difficult to have family support.

I don’t know what the answer is, it’s more funding, we have got to help people.

We should have finances in place to have facilities built in this city and if we have closed wards and beds, we should reopen them.

GT: The Government has put considerable finances into the better care fund that links council’s social services and hospital services.

In my opinion there has always been more emphasis on physical health than emotional health.

We should be doing a lot more and a lot more is being done.

The fact that you [audience member who asked the question] had to go to Essex is not good enough and I very much hope that council and health services working together will see a drastic improvement of a situation like this.

PC: Mental health services are the Cinderella services and the Liberal Democrats led an increase in funding during this parliament and in our manifesto we will look to bring mental health on an equal footing as physical health.

We need to have the right amount of resources applied in the right place.

SS: For good mental health services we want people provided for locally.

This is also an issue about underlying causes but providing good local services definitely works.

The NHS needs investment and that money has to come nationally as well as locally so it’s not just about what we can do here.

The health and wellbeing board has been a good thing bringing health services and council together but we can’t do anything without the resources to spend.

WM: Mental health is going to be a top priority for a Labour administration.

One in three of us will suffer from poor mental health at some point in our lives.

Sending people away from family, friends and local support network is not going to help their recovery.

We will have a lead member for mental health on the council who will sit on the health and wellbeing board.

Young people and disability services

SS: We have a good youth employment service here in Brighton and we’ve managed to keep the funding in that, we’re doing as much as we can.

With regards to learning disabilities, I have visited St John’s College and much better at linking up and making sure young people have proper progression, because sometimes they just get dumped into adult services and there’s nothing for them.

WM: I have launched a pledge with [Hove parliamentary candidate] Peter Kyle to end youth unemployment by 2019.

It will be tough but we will go for it.

We will incentivise small and medium-sized enterprises, which most of the city is made up of, to take up apprenticeships by offering them reduced trader permits.

We also have major projects in the city over the next few years and at the Royal Sussex I have just secured a commitment they will take on young people from the city.

I want to see this included for the King Alfred, Black Rock and extending Churchill Square to the sea.

And we have a commitment from Labour nationally that there will be money to fund things like that.

Able and Willing [supported employer] is a fantastic example of how people with learning difficulties are able to have productive employment lives and I would really like to widen that out across the city.

GT: Five or six years ago, the situation in the city was mass unemployment and very few apprenticeships.

Now we have unemployment falling in Brighton and Hove, apprenticeship is particularly increasing.

We know how important the economy is and the more we can attract businesses to come here that will boost employment and that will benefit older and younger people.

PM: I don’t know what is happening in our schools, do they have careers advisors anymore?

I don’t think we do.

[Youth worker in audience accuses PM of having outlook from 50 years ago] Well I don’t think that’s wrong, I think we should support these people.

PC: Two million apprenticeships have been created under the coalition government.

During this election I have done several meetings in elections and my impression is that teaching in schools in Brighton and Hove is extremely alive, we have some very good schools.

I have a personal horror of this word pledge, it hurts Liberal Democrats very much, I just don’t think you can end youth unemployment.

University students

PM: Student housing must not be allowed to disrupt the lives of people living in the city and any further expansion must consider the housing implications.

GT: Students have done an enormous amount for this city.

The universities attract young people to the city and I think it’s great we have two fantastic universities that are recognised around the world.

The University of Sussex want to add another 4000 students but they are proposing to do that on their own campus.

University of Brighton now has a campus in Hastings, a campus in Eastbourne and will have a campus in Horsham and they are sponsoring UTC in Newhaven.

WM: You cannot prevent the universities from expanding so I have met with them to talk about solutions to the student housing issues.

We have been looking at low cost, rapid building projects in conjunction with neighbouring authorities.

SS: Universities are vital to the success of our city.

Student housing does release other properties that can be rented out to other people so I think it’s a good idea to have student housing.

PC: I love living in double university city, students are fabulous and let’s have lots more of them.

We have three students standing in local elections. We would have four but one forgot to hand his papers on time.

Intimidation of election candidates

[Ukip campaign coordinator Linda Reid claimed that Unite Against Fascism protestors had intimidated Ukip candidates and defaced posters]

GT: I don’t agree with defacing of election posters.

In a democracy everybody has a right to go to a meeting and get information and everyone is entitled to speak.

You can’t condemn them for picketing but I would hope that somebody could ask a question and listen to the answer with courtesy.

WM: This is something I have had a little bit of experience of myself this week. Obviously I think it’s wrong.

I fully support the right to free speech and we should always show respect for one another.

SS: Everybody has right to free speech in a democracy.

But if people sometimes make comments which could be considered racist, and I am not saying anyone has in this instance, then sometimes people have a right to condemn them.

PC: The voices of Ukip should be heard. In my experience when you put them in front of an audience, they don’t tend to do themselves much good.

PM: Ukip are subjected to the most vile abuse and accusations of racism and Ukip posters on private land are defaced and removed.

There are 291 Lib/Lab/Con councillors this year that have been accused of racist, sexist, homophobic and other offences but when any member of Ukip steps out of line, it is us who gets criticised.

Brighton i360

PM: I have no idea how we are going to repay that.

WM: The Labour group were the only one to vote against the i360 and if we are in administration we will be more responsible with taxpayers’ money.

SS: We borrow the money on a low rate of interest and then loan it to the i360 at a higher rate and that is how we will make money.

PC: I recommend people read The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman.

Organisations get a collective madness which must be the only explanation for why they supported this crazy project.

Grown-up discussion

THURSDAY’S meeting at the Thistle Hotel Brighton was a pretty partisan event with Ukip, Greens and Labour bringing their supporters out in large numbers.

After the panellists finished, reporter ANGELIKA RUSBRIDGE gauged the mood of the room.

Genevieve Walsh, 30, of Hove, who asked the panel what would bring to help young people, said: “I think all parties showed themselves to be out of touch with local politics. I came here to make a decision about who to vote for and I go away without knowing who.

“It’s worth noting that certain parties like Ukip came very prepared with answers to questions which were to be asked by the audience, skewing the debate for the common voter.”

Nick Calway asked a question about mental health services during the debate.

He said: “Ukip and Labour did best, I think. They answered the questions I wanted answered and they gave a good response.”

“We need to improve mental health services in Brighton. There should be more beds in the city.

“They should also not be arresting these people and putting them in cells, they should be helping them.”

Adam Campbell, standing for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in Brunswick and Adelaide, said: “I felt that the moderator was excellent, but no one really won. People don’t come to hustings to make their mind up, they already have.

“I came in my capacity as a fool, and the fool is allowed to say things which no one else will say.”

Richard Howard, 64, said: “It wasn’t really about winning, it was generally getting the views of people.

“I thought it was a well balanced discussion but there is still much to be done for the city.”

Tom Druitt, 37, Green candidate for Regency constituency, said: “The real question I would ask is how can political parties in Brighton and Hove work better together?

“There is a lot that they all agree on. Rather than throw bricks at each other, can we have a grown-up discussion about the problems?”