The Labour Party should apologise for the unnecessary cost of by-elections in Brighton and Hove within a year of the local elections

Two by-elections are to be held in Brighton on 2nd May, the same day as the election for the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner. The by-elections in Queen’s Park ward and Kemptown ward come following the resignations of Chandni Mistry and Bharti Gajjar, the so-called Leicester Two who were thrown out of the Labour Party following allegations that they don’t actually live in Brighton. A referral alleging electoral fraud was made to Sussex Police who have recently said no action will be taken over the claims.

Labour’s candidate in the Queen’s Park by-election, Camilla Gauge, with ward councillor Tristram Burden (Photo credit: Tristram Burden X / Twitter)

Council leader, Labour’s Bella Sankey, told the Argus that she was “overjoyed” by the decision of the two councillors to “do the right thing and step down” and said they should “never have been selected as candidates”.  She said: “The people of Queen’s Park and Kemp Town can now elect new councillors that will listen to their needs and serve them properly.”

I’m not sure if “overjoyed” is the right word for it. This whole mess is the making of the Labour Party who really should be offering an apology for the unnecessary cost of two by-elections. A by-election, depending on the size of the ward, costs between £12,000 and £15,000. These by-elections, together with the one held in December in South Portslade, will bring the total to three by-elections caused by Labour since last May’s local elections, at a cost of between £36,000 and £45,000. What a waste of public money at a time when cuts are being made to essential service.

The apology should come from the national or regional Labour Party who took over the selection of candidates in Brighton and Hove. Perhaps the Labour Party should be offering both an apology and an offer to reimburse Brighton and Hove City Council for this unnecessary cost.

One person who should not apologise is Bella Sankey who was not the Leader of the Labour Group at the time of the selections and the election. She must be so frustrated by this and other decisions made by the regional Labour Party, such as not enabling someone with her qualities to be the Party’s candidate in Brighton Pavilion. 

As for the by-elections themselves, Labour should hold on comfortably to both seats. In Camilla Gauge, who is standing in Queen’s Park ward, Labour has chosen an exceptional candidate who will bring experience and great ability to the Council, not least her expertise in tackling violence against women and girls. As far as I am aware, the Party is yet to select its candidate in Kemptown ward.

The Greens have traditionally had some success in Queen’s Park. How close they come to challenging Labour will provide an indication as to the mountain the party has yet to climb in recovering from its worst election defeat in 20 years in Brighton and Hove.

As for the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, they have about as much chance of winning as a lame and blind donkey would have had winning the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival this last week.

Update: 4.45pm 16/03/2024 Theresa Mackey has been selected as Labour’s candidate for the Kemptown by-election.

Violence Against Women and Children at Christmas

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 20th December 2023)

Have you ever thought about how many songs make light of and even justify violence against women and their murder. An obvious one is Delilah by Tom Jones which contains the lines: “She stood there laughing, I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more”, killing her because she laughed at him.

Paul McCartney’s song Maxwell’s Silver Hammer is a dainty ditty about a student, Maxwell Edison, who kills his girlfriend and female teacher before killing a police officer. The other Beatles hated the song and, according to Ringo Starr: “The worst session ever was Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. It was the worst track we ever had to record.”

In the song Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town, performed by Kenny Rogers, the paralysed war veteran, out of jealousy, says “And if I could move I’d get my gun and put her in the ground” because Ruby was, supposedly, being unfaithful.

I began thinking about these songs after listening to My Home Town, a song by the popular American satirist from the 1960s, Tom Lehrer. He sang about one of the “plain folks” in his home town: “The guy that took a knife, And monogrammed his wife, Then dropped her in the pond and watched her drown”. He felt able to satirise femicide, yet he self-censored himself regarding “kindly Parson Brown” with the words: “We’re recording tonight so I have to leave this line out” to avoid reference to the equally appalling abuse of children. 

Christmas is just five days away so, why on earth, am I focusing on such a depressing theme? For many of us, Christmas is a time spent with family and friends, for love, and a time for celebration. But this isn’t the case for everyone. For those experiencing domestic abuse, Christmas can be a time filled with dread, uncertainty and danger, often exacerbated by alcohol and drugs. Each year there is a reported spike in domestic violence with an estimated 15,000 children exposed to domestic abuse over the  festive season.

There is evidence that domestic abuse becomes more frequent, more severe and more dangerous during the Christmas period. For victims and survivors, Christmas can be a very difficult and stressful time of year, particularly this year as people struggle with the financial stress caused by the cost-of-living crisis.

Fortunately in Brighton and Hove we have RISE, a service dedicated to protecting women and children. RISE stands for Refuge, Information, Support and Education. It is a Sussex-based feminist, women-led and centred domestic violence and abuse charity that supports people affected by domestic abuse and violence.  Its vision is: ‘Freedom from Abuse and Violence’ and has been working for almost 30 years to end all forms of violence and abuse against women and their families.

RISE has put on a Christmas party for 40 families (100 mothers and children).  This Christmas they are focusing on their housing advocacy service that can be accessed through their website (www.rise.org.uk) or when making a homelessness application at Brighton and Hove City Council.

RISE needs financial support to keep its services going, not just at Christmas but throughout the year. RISE doesn’t receive funding for many of their basic services such as its helpline (01273 622822). While its own helpline will be closed over Christmas, as a member of the Women’s Aid Federation, it is part of a national phone line, 0808 2000 247, or go to their Online Live Chat at womensaid.org.uk 

RISE has had to close  its helpline for professionals, and has also just closed its waiting list for its therapy services for children and adults. The waiting list for these services had reached two years and the focus will now be on clearing this.

On a more positive note, RISE has secured funding from central government through the City Council for its Sanctuary Scheme which it had been funding itself for the past five years. This allows RISE to support women who want to remain in their homes by providing safety items such as video doorbells, cameras, and arson blockers on letterboxes.

Most importantly, if you or someone you know might be in danger, call the police immediately on 999.

Without donations from people like you RISE would not be able to continue its vital crisis support, practical guidance and the emotional care so that women and children affected by domestic abuse can rebuild their lives.  You can find out more about the work of RISE and make a donation through their website.

Misogyny, sexism and male-on-female violence is a problem for men to resolve, not women

(This item was first published in the Brighton Argus on 13th October 2021. The sentences in italics were removed by the Argus prior to publication).

The sexual assault of a woman in Meeting House Lane has been described by police as ‘an isolated incident’ as reported in the Brighton Argus yesterday (12th October 2021). How can something be described as isolated when sexual harassment and sexual assaults are a daily occurrence, where domestic sexual assaults are commonplace, and when at least three women are murdered each week.

The one thing that brings all these together, making them not isolated incidents, is that the perpetrators are almost exclusively men.

It is one reason why I am supporting the fantastic #CallHimOut initiative by the Lewes Football Club’s men’s team against the epidemic of misogyny, sexism and male-on-female violence. In a statement the club has said that “it’s time, it’s way beyond time, that men took personal responsibility for what all women have to endure, day in, day out. This is a problem for men to resolve, not women.”

The principle of #CallHimOut is that whenever a man hears or sees something said or done that they feel is disrespectful, sexist or harmful in any way to a woman, whether she’s there or not, they will speak to that man and they will #CallHimOut. 

I know from personal experience that doing so isn’t easy, particularly in a sporting environment. Back in the early 1990s after I objected to sexist exchanges in the pub after a cricket game, I was never again asked to play for the team. It was distressing but nowhere near as distressing as the experience of women who are on the receiving end of demeaning comments, unwanted advances, and ‘isolated’ sexual assaults.

There is an increasing recognition of unhealthy attitudes and dangerous behaviours in police forces up and down the country. Perhaps male officers in Sussex Police and the Police Federation itself could #CallHimOut and, thereby, begin to rebuild trust in policing. 

Brighton and Hove City Council Budget: My Reaction

Brighton and Hove City Council published its budget at 3pm yesterday (30^th November). I have reviewed it from BHT’s perspective and have a few observations.

But first, I want to recognise the huge challenges facing councillors. They are trying to cope with unprecedented reductions in funding from central government. I would start by paying tribute to the work of councillors. They will get a lot of criticism, personally and collectively, as well as some personal abuse for making tough decisions caused by circumstances for which they are not responsible. That is unfair.

Of course I am most concerned about homeless people and other vulnerable groups, be they people with mental health and/or substance misuse problems, those escaping domestic violence, and so on.

There are other things that will impact of council budgets, again over which councillors have no control. Welfare reform, not least the benefit cap of £20,000 on households, will see more families losing their homes in high cost areas like Brighton and Hove. There will be greater demands on homelessness services, and the City Council will have statutory responsibility to house many of these households.

All this means that homeless prevention services, like those BHT provides through our advice centres in Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings, become ever more important. Last year we prevented 2,055 households from becoming homeless.

Can you imagine what would happen if we were not there?

The Council has produced a detailed 98 page summary of its budget proposals. It details cuts, the risk arising from funding reductions, and an assessment of the impact and outcomes of doing so.

There are things I welcome:

• There are no further cuts proposed in hostel accommodation for homeless people on top of the cuts already announced.
• There are no reductions in homelessness prevention.
• There is no reduction proposed in the excellent Mental Health Team for Homeless People.
• And there is no further reductions proposed in funding for specialist support services given the considerable cuts made in recent years.

There is recognition that recommissioned services are supporting the delivery of the City Council’s Rough Sleeping Strategy to which BHT is an enthusiastic signatory.

Savings of £356,000 proposed from the cost of providing temporary accommodation for homeless households out of Brighton and Hove is ambitious and not without risk and not without its problems such as loss of support structures, disruption to schooling, and so on, but I am reassured that the Council is looking at positive inducements for people to agree to these placements.

A further saving of £550,000 is proposed by prioritising households in temporary accommodation for social housing. If this can be achieved, then it will be good news for families, especially those of the 1,800 children in temporary and emergency accommodation. Inevitably, though, if one group gets greater access to social housing, others will lose out, but from a social and financial perspective, this is a proposal I support.

I do have some big concerns.

There is a proposed £470,000 reduction in funding to the third/charity sector through the new Third Sector Investment Programme. Many small community groups might struggle to survive without this funding. These cuts might also be a false economy. For example, cuts to BHT’s Brighton Advice Centre might see a reduction in the prevention of homelessness resulting in much more costly interventions that the City Council will, by law, have to provide.

First Base Day Centre currently receives a modest £20,000 from this source.  It is essential funding that allows us to continue to provide the services we do to those sleeping rough of our streets.

I was encouraged that the Council is looking at ways of reducing these savings.

I have a mixed reaction to proposals to save £600,000 from community substance misuse services.

The main provider of the Pavilions Partnership, Cranston, has negotiated a reduction in its funding in return for a longer contract. This is commendable.

The proposed £138,000 cut in funding for residential rehab services could be a decision the City might come to regret. If it is to reduce out of area placements I would be quite relaxed about that given that these are rarely effective and a lot of money has been wasted in the past. (People achieving abstinence out of area have limited prospects of remaining abstinent if they return to the City without support structures that are provided in abundance and voluntarily for those who achieve abstinence through a Brighton/Hove based service).

If there is a reduction in funding to the two local residential rehab services provided by the St Thomas Fund and through BHT’s Addiction Services, then I would be very, very worried.

BHT’s Addiction Services are amongst the most effective anywhere in Britain. It is no exaggeration to say that if this service was to be compromised, there will be an increase in drug-related deaths.

I hope that councillors are being well advised regarding this.

Real Life Story: How the Accommodation for Work Project helped Eric back into work

Eric came to BHT’s Accommodation for Work Project when his relationship broke down. The project (which is funded by the Big Lottery) aims to help homeless people off the streets and into employment and independent accommodation.

His partner had become abusive towards him and he had no place else to go. He was faced with either becoming street homeless or staying with a violent partner. The stress of his relationship breakdown and possible homelessness made him feel anxious and depressed and he suffered panic attacks. On top of that, Eric had a stressful job and it was difficult for him to cope with it when he was in this situation.

He sought housing advice and was referred to the Accommodation for Work Project. He moved into the project and had his own room and weekly support sessions from a support worker. It took him a while to improve his wellbeing and process the traumatic experience he’d been through. He also had to deal with ongoing harassment from his ex-partner.

Eric was keen to make a fresh start and got a new full-time job. He also completed a Level One Accountancy course, which he really enjoyed.
Eric had to claim benefits as there was a delay in his new job starting. When he got his start date he had to sign off from the Job Centre but he wouldn’t be paid from work for 7 weeks. He wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to take the job and wait for 7 weeks with no food, rent money, or travel fares for work.

His support worker referred him to a food bank, which agreed to support him with food until payday. She advised him to ask the Job Centre for help with travel fares to work. Eric asked them, but they said they could only help with travel fares for one week. His keyworker contacted one of the Job Centre’s Social Justice Champions to advocate for him to get more help and it was agreed that they would fund his travel to work for a month. The project was able to fill the gap and fund the remaining three weeks of his travel fares.

The project agreed with Eric that he would pay rent as soon as he got paid from work. If Eric had been in private rented housing his tenancy would have been jeopardy due to accruing rent arrears. Starting work, coming off benefits and waiting to be paid is a difficult time for people who don’t have savings or other resources.

Eric paid his rent in full when he was paid. He enjoyed his new job, which was much less stressful than the previous one. Having a stable place to live and with support, his mental health improved significantly.

The next task for Eric was looking for his own flat. His support worker referred him to the PAAT Project for support with accessing private rented accommodation. She also helped him apply to a charity for help with a deposit. (The PAAT Project, also funded by the Big Lottery, works with individuals with low support needs and provides information, support and practical assistance to enable individuals to develop the skills, options and knowledge to improve opportunities to access private rented accommodation. Assistance is provided individually and in group work sessions).

Eric contacted dozens of estate agents and went on many viewings, but even though he was working full-time it was difficult for him to find accommodation without a guarantor. Several estate agents also said he wasn’t earning enough to qualify for their flats. After months of searching Eric finally found a studio flat and has been settled there for several months. He is still enjoying his work and in the 18 months since he first came to the project his life is in a much better place.

(My comment: Eric’s story shows that in spite of the great work carried out by this and other BHT services, the housing crisis in Brighton and Hove is such that securing suitable and affordable housing is becoming a bigger and bigger problem.  Also, the system operated by the DWP appears to be designed to frustrate and make it more difficult than necessary for people to get into work.  Some greater flexibility from the DWP in helping people back to work would save money in the short and long term.  Without the financial support and understanding from the Accommodation for Work Project, Eric would not have been able to return to work).

A few examples of the issues just one BHT adviser has dealt with this week

A colleague this week told me she had had a “What the f**k” moment when reflecting on her work.  It was her way of saying things are going badly wrong with the fabric of the welfare state. Please excuse her language, but when you see what she has been dealing with over the last week, you might yourself ask: “What the f**k is going on?”.  Here are a few examples:

• A local authority telling a woman fleeing DV that she is intentionally homeless because it was “reasonable” for her to return to the marital home because there weren’t many police reports
• A man in a respite mental health support unit being supported by the mental health crisis team after suicide attempts was deemed by a local authority as not being in priority need
• A homeless couple, one 18 years old, the other 17, were not in priority need
• An individual was told that they were “intentionally homeless” because the landlord refused the tenant entry to the property after an unlawful eviction
• A client’s housing benefit element of Universal Credit has not been processed after 6 weeks “because there is a backlog” (how many people are actually claiming Universal Credit right now?).

As a foot note, my colleague was in Court on Thursday trying to stop the bailiffs warrant from being executed. She had to explain to the Judge what was going on. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate if the Department for Work and Pensions was in Court having to explain to the Judge why they have not processed a claim in 6 weeks…..?

She was successful and another case of homelessness was prevented.

So what does my colleague think about what she is trying to deal with? She told me: “It appears that most things have been put in place to make things worse. Loss of Legal Aid, reduction in legal aid, DWP reforms, reductions in preventative care / measures. Reduction in supporting people monies, removal of regulatory bodies to see what local authorities are really doing. Big Boy housing associations where money appears to be the driving factor and not service to tenants.

“I’m not sure where it will all end up.”

‘You Don’t Own Me’, a powerful song by Lesley Gore and a suitable antidote to the domestic violence justifying ‘Delilah’

Yesterday I posted an item saying that it was time for Tom Jones to stop performing Delilah, a song that attempts to justify domestic homicide. I suggested that nobody would continue to perform a song that attempted to justify the lynching of black people.

As it is a Saturday, I though I would post a link to a powerful song that was ahead of its time, performed in 1963 by Lesley Gore, You Don’r Own Me. I feel it is a suitable antidote to Delilah.

 

Tom Jones is a national legend but it is time he ditched Delilah

(This is the text of my Opinion column first published in the Brighton Argus on 26th February 2016)

Sir Tom Jones is set to perform at the County Ground in Hove in July.

No doubt there will be a sell-out crowd. Sir Tom is one of the most popular performers in the country and his enduring popularity for over 50 years is proof of that. It is unlikely that any of the so-called musicians of today will be remembered in 10 years, let alone in 50 years time.

But one thing has to go. The song Delilah is out of keeping by today’s standards. While it has such a memorable tune, it does present domestic homicide as something that a man is led to commit because of the taunting of his female partner.

Its lyrics include: “She was my woman, As she deceived me I watched and went out of my mind” and “She stood there laughing, I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more”.

There are three domestic killings each week in the United Kingdom and a song that blames the female victim is not acceptable. I cannot imagine that a catchy tune excusing the lynching of black people would be regarded as acceptable today.

I write this as a lifelong Stoke City supporter where there is a campaign to ban Delilah, an unofficial club song, from the terraces.

I hope that it disappears at the Britannia Stadium and makes no appearance at the County Ground in July. It’s time to ditch Delilah.

Causes of homelessness for households, couples and single people as seen at BHT’s Advice Centres

This is an edited extract from evidence submitted by BHT to Parliament’s Communities and Local Government Committee. The evidence provided is from our advice services in Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings, of 298 people or households who approached us where their primary issue was current homelessness. The data used is from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015.

Summary

64% were single men or single women. The main cause of homelessness was parents, relatives and friends asking our clients to leave the property (29%), of which 59% had been asked to leave by friends and relatives.  25 were homelessness due to domestic violence.  One fifth of the clients were. homeless due to the end of their Assured Shorthold Tenancy. This was the case for 24 families with children and 25 single people.

Single people

Of the 192 single people 14% were rough sleeping when we first saw them and we do not have a cause of their homelessness.

By far the highest cause of homelessness for single men and women was that friends or relatives were unwilling to accommodate them. 31% of the 192 people were homeless because friends or family could no longer accommodate them due to a lifestyle clash, lack of money, overcrowding or just no longer able to accommodate them.

19% were homeless due to the breakdown of a relationship; this was either a non-violent breakdown or the breakdown of a relationship with a violent partner or the breakdown of a violent relationship with an associated person.

13% of single people were homeless due to ending of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST).

In 17% of the cases clients reported that they been evicted from a hostel, supported accommodation or temporary accommodation. This would be due to alleged non-payment of rent or their behaviour has not complied with the terms of their licence.

A very small number of clients reported that they were homeless after leaving prison, hospital or another type of institution.

Adult Households

There were 32 adult households, for example a parent and an adult child. There was a spread across the causes of homelessness. 31% were due to the end of an assured shorthold tenancy – 4 households where the AST was ended due to rent arrears, 4 where the reasons were not known and 2 where the landlord was selling the property.

28% of homelessness was caused by the breakdown in a relationship. 4 of these were a non-violent breakdown and in 5 the breakdown was due to violence.

Couples without children

There were only 13 couples without children who came for advice on homelessness. 5 of these couples were homeless because family or friends could not accommodate them. For two of the couples lifestyle clash was reported as the reason they had to leave their parents’ home.

Couples with children

There were 14 couples with children. The main cause of homelessness for these families (3) was that friends and relatives could not accommodate them any longer, for 2 other families they could no longer remain in their parents’ home due to overcrowding.

Single parent families

Of the 47 single parent families (male and female), 43% of these families were facing homelessness due to the end of their Assured Shorthold Tenancies including 5 due to rent arrears. A fifth of these families were facing homelessness because they could no longer remain with relatives, friends or in the parental home. 7 of the families had to leave the parental home due to overcrowding.

Why is civil legal aid always the poor relation when it helps people in debt, women escaping violence, prevention of homelessness, etc.?

Towards the end of January, the government announced it was scrapping a controversial new contracting scheme for criminal legal aid.

The justice secretary Michael Gove said that there had been ‘significant’ developments since July last year. He said that as a result of economies made by the Ministry of Justice, the Treasury had given him a settlement ‘which allows me greater flexibility in the allocation of funds for legal aid’.

Obviously this is a great result for criminal legal aid, but if HM Treasury has given a settlement for greater flexibility of funds for criminal legal aid, why has civil legal aid not even been though about? Civil legal aid helps people in debt, women escaping violence, prevention of homelessness, etc, all things that has great social value.

In almost 15 years, under the previously Labour government, the Coalition and now the Conservatives, there has been no uplift in the fixed fee we receive under legal help and, I believe, no uplift in legal aid either. In fact we had cuts in fixed fee a few years ago.

Civil legal aid is equally important as criminal aid. Civil legal aid can and does save the state millions possibly billions of pounds every year. Yet we are always hit the hardest, an easy target for cuts. Maybe its just because people do not recognise the hugely significant work that is done under civil legal aid. Maybe it is because our clients are poor, are not glamorous, are not famous, do not grab headlines. But without legal aid, levels of domestic violence, homelessness, debt, etc. Would be much, much higher.