THE deputy leader of the council has criticised a Conservative councillor who described himself as the only ethnic minority councillor in the city.

She said he has “erased the identity” of a Jewish councillor and another who is Irish.

Councillor Samer Bagaeen criticised the lack of diversity on Brighton and Hove City Council, particularly after the Labour group had powers to select candidates for the local elections taken from it over concerns over anti-semitism and a lack of representation.

However, Councillor Hannah Clare criticised the councillor for describing himself in a blog post on the ConservativeHome website as the “only ethnic minority representative on the council”.

She told Cllr Bagaeen on Twitter: “It’s not a good look to erase the identity of an ethnically Jewish councillor who also defines as Black and Minority Ethnic (Bame).”

She pointed out that Councillor Leo Littman is Ashkenazi Jewish and that leader of the council, Phelim Mac Cafferty, is white Irish.

“While we know that black, brown and Asian people often experience a different type of racism that most pale-skinned minorities usually avoid, it is also true to say that many different communities experience racism,” she said.

Cllr Clare accepted the council should be more representative of the people that live in the city and said the Green Party is actively encouraging people from minority backgrounds to throw their hat in the ring to become a councillor candidate for next year’s local elections.

She said: “We recognise that the city council is not as diverse as the communities we serve and that all parties have a responsibility to do better.

“In recognition of this, we have already begun the process of actively inviting people from communities which experience racism to apply to become a Green Party councillor.

“Although we know there is much more to do, we are proud of the work we have been doing to tackle racism in Brighton and Hove.

“Historically, we led with a review in 2013 into the experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic staff, co-creating an action plan and we pledged to introduce a co-optee from a community who experiences racism in the 2019 local elections.

“Over the last few years, we have been hard at work and committed to dismantle racism both within the council and the city, taking the lead from communities who experience racism.

“But we know that there is more to be done - and that includes having a council which more fairly represents the broad diversity of the city.”