The city’s longest-serving Green councillor has said the party can offer residents “experience, purpose and drive”.

Pete West, who became Brighton and Hove’s first Green representative in 1996, is running for re-election in the new Round Hill ward.

Some 27 years on, Mr West still remembers campaigning frantically to ensure he was elected for the first time to the council.

He said: “On election day, it rained non-stop. By evening, hardly any of our voters had emerged.

“All might have been lost, but we turned out of the vote - all of it, in two hours. I remember running up Ditchling Rise soaked to the skin, banging on our supporters’ doors asking them to vote.

“The sight of me was enough and before long people were running past with kids in toe, saying ‘we’ve got to do this, come on’. They queued in the rain vote that night. I’ll never forget that.

“People voted Green then as, in so many ways, they already understood the unsustainable way the world was living, and the pressing need to change.

“This view was derided by the media, and dismissed by established political parties. Our voters wanted a new and honest voice to challenge this and to help build a better future.

“We were euphoric at the result, of course, but have since always carried a great sense of the trust placed in us. Old fashioned words, I know, but it truly is an honour to serve people.”

The Argus: Pete West and Green Party activists celebrating his election to the council in 1996Pete West and Green Party activists celebrating his election to the council in 1996 (Image: The Argus)

Since Mr West’s election, Brighton and Hove has gone on to elect the country’s only Green MP and the first UK’s Green-led council.

Mr West described Caroline Lucas as “perhaps the most respected of all parliamentarians today” and said: “She embodies an honesty, energy and dedication all Greens aspire to emulate.”

He also said that the city has improved in many ways since he was first elected.

“It has been made a city and we’ve regenerated so many sites for housing and work, learned to value our publicly owned Downland, and hosted a great diversity of events,” Mr West said.

“We’ve started building council houses again and buying back homes for affordable rent, and we’ve set the council and city on a journey to be zero-carbon by 2030 - it’s a tall order but we’re not for doing things by halves.”

However, he said that a lack of a political majority on the council means “many important initiatives have been scuppered by the opposition”.

He said: “If we have a majority, some funds will come back as we’ll be able to offer certainty projects will be delivered.”

LOCAL ELECTIONS 2023:

Mr West said that Green councillors can offer residents “experience, purpose and drive”.

He said: “We have a strong sense of purpose, stronger than ever perhaps, that the city needs to transform to meet the challenges of climate change.

“We need to not only reduce carbon, but protect and improve biodiversity; and above all we need to continue to help support everyone, residents and businesses to adapt and prosper.

“We have the drive and energy to do this. While I’m now one of the oldest Green councillors, we are being joined by a new generation.

“A generation that wants a future: a home they can afford, a fulfilling well-paid occupation and an environment restored to health.”

Voters go to the polls across the city on May 4.