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.

Who from Brighton’s past should we be remembering? The film ‘Vindication Swim’ recalls the achievements of the amazing Mercedes Gleitze

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 13th March 2024)

Brighton has a poor record of preserving the memory of those who have gone before. How many Brightonians, not least those who are recent arrivals, know who Herbert Carden, Dorothy Stringer or Lewis Cohen were? And why should they? The City Council does little to commemorate these and other individuals who helped make the city what it is. The Argus remembers them, and Brighton and Hove Buses names significant people from Brighton’s past on its buses and on a special website. It should be commended for this.

From time to time I write about people I have known who have died, people like Selma Montford, Dennis Hobden, Ruth Larkin, Bernie Jordan and Bob Cristofili. Mary Clarke is the ‘forgotten suffragette’ in spite of being Emmeline Pankhurst’s sister. Mary ran the Brighton office of the Women’s Social and Political Union. She died on Christmas Day 1910 from a brain haemorrhage probably caused by rough treatment at the hands of the police and prison authorities immediately before her passing. There is no memorial for Mary other than her name appearing on the front of a Brighton bus. There is now a campaign to have a statue of Mary Clarke erected in the gardens of the Royal Pavilion estate. 

Another long-forgotten Brightonian is Mercedes Gleitze. She was born in Brighton who, in 1927, became the first British woman to swim the English Channel. Her swimming achievements were not ‘limited’ to that. She is believed to be the first person to swim the Straights of Gibraltar and was the first person to swim to Robben Island and back to Cape Town, a sea I know well as I was brought up there and can testify to the currents and coldness of those waters.

After nearly 100 years during which time she had become largely forgotten, her legacy is now secure through a film that went on general release last Friday, deliberately coinciding with International Women’s Day. The film, Vindication Swim, features the amazing Kirsten Callaghan and the equally impressive John Locke. Remarkably, it was written and directed by a 23-year-old Brightonian, Elliott Hasler. If you warch just one film this year, make sure it’s Vindication Swim.

With Kirsten Callaghan and John Locke (I’m the one who didn’t dress up for the occasion!)

After a special screening of the film on International Women’s Day at Brighton’s Duke of York cinema, a cinema that Mercedes herself had visited, Kirsten Callaghan, John Locke and Elliott Hasler answered questions from the audience. Kirsten described some of the discomforts and challenges faced by Mercedes which she, too, had experienced. For example, she wore a heavy 100-year-old one-piece bathing suit. The leather in the goggles she used bled, resulting in a disgusting taste seeping into her mouth. On one occasion she was in the water for four hours, with the salt affecting her mouth and sense of taste. Elliott, too, spent lengthy periods filming in the water, but he had the protection of a wetsuit! John, on the other hand, stayed in a small support boat as had his character, Harold Best, who had coached Mercedes.

All the scenes in the sea were filmed off the south coast. No use was made of stage tanks nor ‘green screen’ technology where subjects can be superimposed onto virtual backgrounds. 

Back to Mercedes herself. Her first endurance swimming record was for 26 hours. Over several years she extended this record to 45 and, subsequently, 46 hours. She had become a popular and famous personality, and when she undertook these endurance swims in public swimming baths, crowds would attend and encourage her by singing together.

Most of Mercedes epic swims, including her world records for endurance swimming, were sponsored.  She used her sponsorship and winnings to open accommodation for homeless people, particularly homeless women, with the first Mercedes Gleitze Home opening in Leicester in 1933. The charity bearing her name continues to operate providing accommodation for homeless people but, sadly, not in Brighton. She helped unemployed people to move from the north to Leicester where there were jobs. She is also said to have supported the extension of the franchise to women below the age of 30 in 1928.

Towards the end of her life, Mercedes became increasingly reclusive. She denied her past achievements and would not discuss them with her family.  She died in1981 in London aged 80. There is now a blue plaque commemorating this daughter of Brighton at the house in Freshfield Road where she was born in 1900.

I hope that in future more Brighton women, perhaps not as exceptional as Mercedes Gleitze, can be remembered for their own extraordinary achievements.

Was Sir Keir Starmer being honest about Labour dealing with homelessness and rough sleeping in Brighton and Hove?

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 28th February 2024)

Tent outside Brighton Station (photo credit: The Argus)

Last week The Argus reported that a large four-person tent had been put up outside Brighton Station. The homelessness campaigner, Daniel Harris, was quoted as saying that the council cannot promote Brighton as a business and investment hub “while the first thing people see when they get here is a tent.”  He correctly points to the daily safety risks facing homeless people especially those in tents. As someone who has worked in homelessness services for over thirty years, I was also quoted in the article as saying: “(Tents) are not safe for people living in them or those working to help them. If someone has an emergency inside a tent, it can’t be seen.”

The answer, of course, is the provision of housing with the right support. But as Daniel points out, “limited housing options” in Brighton means it is difficult for people to escape rough sleeping. He says that what is needed is a strategic approach which “involves building more council homes, council-owned emergency accommodation to modern standards ensuring safety, and relocating those without genuine local ties where feasible and safe to so.”

The City Council was alerted to the presence of the tent on Monday of last week and it was gone by the weekend. The Chair of the council’s housing committee, Councillor Gill Williams, said: “Our street homeless outreach service always works with tent dwellers to help them find accommodation. Our primary concern is … the welfare of people living in them. We have a welfare first approach and offer help if those in tents are homeless, and always take action to remove encampments as soon as these circumstances and due legal process allow.”

When the leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, on a visit to Sussex last week, was asked by The Argus what a Labour government would do to tackle the homelessness crisis in Brighton, he said that given Labour has formed the administration locally, it was now in a position to help people get off the streets. He said: “I do think in Brighton, in particular, before we took over the council they didn’t put the support in place to deal with this. Luckily, we are now in a position to now turn this around. And that means providing not just a roof but also the support that people need.”

I was shocked by this disingenuous and misleading statement from the Labour leader. Under the previous Green administration, the one area where there was excellent collaboration and joint-working between the Greens and Labour, was on housing, homelessness and rough sleeping. Credit for this should go to the former Green councillors David Gibson and Siriol Hugh-Jones, and their Labour opposite number, Gill Williams. This joint approach often enjoyed all-party support including from the Conservative Mary Mears. But the council’s efforts were frustrated by the government’s squeeze on local government finances. Nevertheless, under successive Conservative, Labour and Green administrations, the council has continued to fund accommodation for over 700 people who have been, or might otherwise be, sleeping rough. In its budget agreed last week, the Labour administration is not investing anything extra into homelessness prevention. In fact, funding to help people move away from Brighton is under threat. 

For Keir Starmer to have made such a misleading assertion suggests that he was either badly informed or being dishonest. Perhaps he should set the record straight and give credit to the Greens where credit is due rather than make this cheap and dishonest bid for votes. 

A question that Sir Keir Starmer must answer is: will a Labour government provide the resources to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping by funding the necessary accommodation and the support homeless people need to get people off the streets, address underlying issues, and to help them into employment?  I fear that with Labour’s self-imposed spending restrictions, tackling rough sleeping and homelessness will not receive the priority it did under the Blair government when the Rough Sleepers Initiative saw a massive fall in the number of people sleeping rough. 

And critically, will Labour invest in the building of council houses, in their hundreds of thousands? Without this, the UK’s housing crisis will only get worse.

Given Sir Keir’s assertion that the Labour administration is now in a position to turn the homelessness problem around, let us hold the City Council to account by seeing whether it is providing enough accommodation for homeless people and also the support they need to move away from homelessness and into employment. Sir Keir says you are in a position to do so. Now let’s see you do it.

MPs and councillors have lost the plot about their true roles

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 14th February 2024)

When Winston Churchill was the Member of Parliament for Dundee between 1908 and 1922, it is said that he never visited the town. This was not uncommon at that time and many MPs would never visit their constituency between elections. The link with one’s constituency was merely a vehicle of convenience for gaining political office. How different it is today. MPs maintain constituency offices with a number of paid staff. When the House in sitting, the majority of MPs return to their constituencies on a Thursday evening, undertake constituency business on Friday and over the weekend, before returning to Westminster in time for Monday’s sitting.

It wasn’t until 1969 that MPs first received an allowance to employ a solitary secretary, and it wasn’t until the early 1970s that MPs began to make case work a major part of their role. This development was pioneered by Liberal candidates and MPs who set up Liberal Focus Teams. This led to some notable successes in by-elections and was soon replicated by other parties. In Brighton Kemptown, the Conservative Andrew Bowden, who in 1970 won the seat from Labour’s Dennis Hobden, became a very familiar figure around the constituency and made this a safe Conservative seat for the next two decades. 

By contrast, his fellow Conservative in Brighton Pavilion, Julian Amery, was rarely, if ever, seen in Brighton between elections. This prompted a letter to the Evening Argus asking whether Mr Amery was in fact dead since he had not been seen in the constituency since the previous election. Mr Amery responded that he was elected to represent his electorate in parliament, not in Brighton.

Today all MPs aim to be familiar figures in their towns, villages or cities. All advertise regular ‘surgeries’ where they meet with constituents and take up issues on their behalf, including planning matters and neighbour disputes. They will advocate on behalf of their constituents about housing need and disrepair, traffic and parking problems, school admissions and registration with doctor surgeries. In Brighton and Hove potholes, refuse collection and weeds on the pavements have demanded time and attention from MPs who are supported by a team of constituency caseworkers. If the truth be told, it is these staff who do most of the casework on behalf of the MP.

Back in Westminster, the role of MPs is to scrutinise legislation and to hold the government to account but this has been watered down as MPs have increasingly become mere voting fodder for their party leaders. 

This arrangement where MPs have become glorified and well-paid social workers is, of course, a ridiculous nonsense. MPs have no direct authority and little expertise on most casework matters. They have no responsibility for schools, housing, street cleaning, traffic, parking, and planning matters. 

Council leader, Bella Sankey, doing the job of a council worker – this is not what councillors are elected to do (Photo: The Argus)

On the other hand, local councillors are responsible for all these. But local councillors, too, have lost their way. They debate and pass resolutions on national and international matters, none of which is the responsibility of local councils. Meanwhile, they have highly publicised action days where they make a big show on social media of them removing graffiti and cutting back weeds. This is not the role of a local councillor. Councils employ staff to do these tasks, and whenever I see a councillor having one of these action days, especially when they are part of the administration, it is a signal that they as councillors have spectacularly failed in their role and they are trying to look good while merely papering over the cracks of failing services.

The role of councillors should be the setting of strategies, priorities and standards for council officers to implement, and ensuring that these strategies are carried out. In Brighton and Hove we see the complete reversal of roles, where officers take a lead on strategic matters and all-too-often police their councillors’ actions and statements. Whereas councillors should be the representatives of their voters, there is a breed of council staff called ‘community engagement officers’. I have witnessed these officers moderating what a councillor can say at community meetings and councillors deferring to them. 

Brighton and Hove City Council is having to find cuts . I would suggest that councillors get rid of community engagement officers and that they resume that role. While they are about it, they should clear out the overwhelming majority of strategy officers, policy co-ordinators, and community safety, diversity and inclusion officers. They make the council look busy and might make some people with vested interests feel good but they rarely benefit the people of the city.  

What music does it for you: grime, acid and garage, or Olivia Newton-John and Showaddywaddy?

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 17th January 2024)

When I first arrived in England I was overwhelmed by the music scene in the U.K. I had been brought up in 1970s South Africa where the edgiest music to be heard on the apartheid-controlled Springbok Radio included the Bee Gees and Olivia Newton-John. On the pirate LM Radio, broadcast on the crackling shortwave band from neighbouring Mozambique, we could listen to The Beatles who were banned from South African airwaves after John had said that The Beatles were more popular that Jesus and that the Christian faith was declining to the extent that it might be outlasted by rock music. This led to the ban.

There were some bootleg albums that did the rounds including the music of Rodriguez, an American of Mexican origins who was, at the time, big amongst young, liberal white South Africans but virtually unknown elsewhere, not least in the USA. A story of his life, ‘Searching for Sugarman’, won an Oscar and a BAFTA. Rodriguez sadly died last August.

Meat Loaf and Debbie Harry from Blondie

A few days after I arrived in the U.K., I saw Top of the Pops for the first time. It was eye-opening and jaw-dropping for this music innocent, featuring that week Elvis Costello and The Attractions (Oliver’s Army), Blondie (Heart of Glass) and Meat Loaf (Bat Out of Hell). New Wave music had yet to reach South Africa and I was blown away by what I saw and heard. Two Tone, reggae and Ska appealed to me. This was the music of the anti-racist and anti-fascist movements, of the Anti-Nazi League. My first political activity after arriving in the UK was to go on a counter demonstration outside Fairlight School off Lewes Road against the neo-nazi National Front which was trying to hold an election rally in the run up to the 1979 General Election.

In Brighton there were any number of ‘alternative’ bands. They rehearsed in the vaults of the old Resource Centre at the top of North Road and performed at The Richmond Hotel, The Marlborough, Alhambra, Sussex University and Brighton Polytechnic. Even today I can recall names like Birds with Ears, The Piranhas, Dick Damage and the Dilemma, Nicky and The Dots, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, and Pookiesnackenburger. There was even a Christian punk group, Rev Counter and the Speedometers, led by an ordained minister (Rev Counter – get it?) but I don’t think they ever graced The Richmond or the Basement at the Poly.

The Piranhas were probably the best-known group with their version of Tom Hark which is still played regularly at sporting events here in England. Meanwhile, Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas from Pookiesnackenburger went on to set up STOMP which has performed to worldwide audiences including at the Oscars. On a more parochial front, there was once some graffiti that read: “Dick Damage reads The Argus”. What a sellout!

But of all these bands, my favourite was a lesbian punk rock group, the Devil’s Dykes that morphed into the Bright Girls and later Siren. As far as I am aware, Siren is the only group from that era that still performs. Its members are a little bit older and perhaps a tad greyer, but they are probably now better musicians. Their politics is still as radical, focusing on women’s rights, lesbianism, peace and, most recently, the climate crisis. It may seem strange that I frequented their gigs, me being a straight man, but I am biased towards Siren because my sister and her partner are still members of the band. Last year they released their latest album, Under the Bridge, and a documentary was made, ‘Bending the Note – the Story of Siren’ as pioneering women, musicians and lesbians, which can be seen on Latest TV.

I imagine that many people look back with fondness at the cultural experiences of their youth, be it rock and roll, the Mods and Rockers, punk, New Wave, reggae or Ska. Even disco from the seventies, my era, brings back happy memories of evenings spent at the Shalom Centre in Cape Town, even if the fashion of the day left something to be desired. Sadly something was lost, in my opinion, with the advent of acid house, garage, hip hop and grime. I know that I have an eclectic, more conservative taste in music, but I doubt that there will be much of a revival of some of that music which, even in its heyday, was nothing to write home about.

So I will be off now to spin Showaddywaddy’s Greatest Hits L.P. on the gramophone. 

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.

Councillors in Brighton and Hove are to consider whether Preston Park should be given over to Brighton Pride for two weekends

In August I asked in my weekly Argus column whether we should call time on Brighton Pride. The weekend has moved so far away from the original Lesbian and Gay Pride, even dropping the words ‘Lesbian’ and ‘Gay’ from its title. Some people have suggested the weekend has become little more than an opportunity for straight people to party under a Rainbow Flag.

Brighton Pride 2019

Of course, for many people, it is a lot more than that. It provides some people with the opportunity, sometimes for the first time, to express their sexuality in public and to March alongside other lesbian women and gay men. This is an important part of the Pride experience. 

But the ‘Pride Party’ in Preston Park has moved a million miles away from that. And for people living around Preston Park, and in 21 streets in and around St James’s Street, Pride weekend can be a nightmare. It is not just the three days of Pride weekend itself, and in the case of Preston Park, it is a total of ten or eleven days as the park is closed for recreation and dog walking.

If that wasn’t bad enough, there is a proposal going before councillors this Friday seeking approval to extend the festivities over two weekends, meaning that Preston Park will be out of bounds for almost three weeks. Organisers are hoping to spread their costs by hosting standalone events, not be part of the Pride itself, over the first weekend.

This is unacceptable and councillors for Preston Park ward and those representing surrounding areas must step in on behalf of their residents to limit the disruption and inconvenience that this would cause their constituents.

I would like to hear from those wishing to become the next MP for Brighton Pavilion (Siân Berry, Eddie Izzard, Tom Gray, Birgit Miller, Lucy Helliwell, and Ashley Ridley) whether they  support the closure of the park for commercial reasons at the expense of local people’s access to this green open space that is loved and used by thousands of people every day.

And what will local councillors do to protect this amenity for their constituents?

The councillors for Preston Park Ward are: Steve Davis (Green), Liz Loughran (Labour), and Kerry Pickett (Green).

The councillors for neighbouring wards are:

• Roundhill: Raphael Hill and Pete West (both Green)
• West Hill and North Laine: Ellen McLeay and Sue Shanks (both Green)
• Westdene and Hove Park: Samer Bagaeen, Emma Hogan and Ivan Lyon’s (all Conservative)

Amongst today’s politicians, there isn’t a single one who is worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Nelson Mandela

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 29th November 2023)

Next Tuesday is the tenth anniversary of the death of Nelson Mandela. Today he is one of the most recognisable people on the planet, even a decade after his death.  Yet in the sixties and early seventies, Mandela had become invisible in South Africa and throughout the world.

He had been in prison since 1963 and for most of that time his image was banned in South Africa. In fact, displaying any image of Mandela carried a prison sentence. He could not be quoted in public and for the majority of white South Africans, he was out of sight and out of mind. For the first seventeen years of his incarceration he was held in a prison on Robben Island, six miles off the coast of Cape Town. 

When growing up in Cape Town, I had no particular view of Mandela.  I had heard his name but knew little, if anything, about him.  When my friends and I cycled to Cape Town Docks, we were aware of the high security berth where the ‘terrorists’ were taken from the mainland to Robben Island, and that Mandela was one of them.  That area now forms part of the Waterfront, a mecca for tourists and rich South Africans alike.

From my bedroom window I could see Robben Island in the distance out to sea. But it wasn’t until I arrived in England that I first saw a photograph of Mandela – an old black and white photo taken many years before. Today I have on my wall a large ANC election poster from 1994, dominated by the warm, smiling face of Mandela who we had been told in the bad old days of apartheid, wanted to drive all white people into the sea. Archbishop Desmond Tutu used to quip: “How can we drive you into the sea when you don’t even allow us on to the beaches?” Under apartheid the best beaches were reserved for white people only.

In the nineteen sixties, seventies and eighties, few would have predicted that a peaceful transition would be achieved, from apartheid to democracy, nor that a single individual, long out of public view, serving a life sentence for acts of terrorism, would be the catalyst for this monumental change. Many people tend to forget that Mandela did, indeed, lead the arm struggle, and was responsible for planting bombs. Margaret Thatcher is alleged to have described Mandela as “that grubby little terrorist”. But, as they say, one person’s ‘terrorist’ is another person’s freedom fighter.

The world now rightly regards him one of the greatest figures of the modern era, and pays homage to him for his dignity, his courage, and his willingness to forgive. Yet it is worth remembering he had his shortcomings, and today’s corrupt ANC government is also part of his legacy.

A true monument to Mandela, himself without an ounce of corruption, is to build on the legacy of the Rainbow Nation, by routing out the corruption that is endemic throughout the new ruling class in South Africa, and which is holding back the cause of fairness and freedom.

We need the likes of Nelson Mandela today in many parts of the world, not least in Israel and Palestine, someone who can reach across historic divides, of painful, violent histories, who can be a catalyst for peace.

In spite of the above, I have always been uncomfortable at how people have co-opted the image of Mandela to demonstrate their own virtues. It was always easy for progressives in the U.K. to oppose the abomination of apartheid from six thousand miles away, yet turn a blind eye to injustice and oppression closer to home. 

When Mandela addressed a combined session of the British Parliament, there was not a single dissenting voice amongst the MPs and Lords present. They basked in being in his presence.  Yet many had not lifted a finger in his support when it did not suit their interests and prejudices. Today, too, many of our leaders fail to deal with the injustices in our own society, like homelessness, poverty and violence. They might say the right thing, but words (unlike under apartheid) come cheap. The Conservatives have destroyed much of the welfare state, while a likely Labour government will fail to act because they want to be seen as being fiscally responsible. 

If political leaders in this country had a tiny fraction of the courage and determination of Nelson Mandela, then great things could be achieved. But amongst them there isn’t a single one who is worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as him.

The Nazi collaborator and his link to a Brighton Member of Parliament

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 8th November 2023)

Julian Amery, the MP for Brighton Pavilion from 1969 to 1992, was known for his right-wing views. He was Patron of the far-right Monday Club, actively supported the racist Ian Smith when he made his Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and because of his support for the apartheid regime in South Africa was jokingly referred to as “the Member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion and Johannesburg North.”

But there was one issue on which he was out of step with his right-wing colleagues, and that was on the death penalty.  He supported its abolition and opposed attempts to reintroduce it.

The death penalty for most offences was abolished 58 years ago today. The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 was given Royal Assent on 8th November 1965. A few offences remained that carried the death sentence but they, too, were abolished in 1998 by the Human Rights Act.

Amery was the younger son of Leo Amery, also an MP and Secretary of State for the Colonies and subsequently for India and Burma. It was Leo’s concluding statement at the end of his speech in the ‘Norway Debate’ that brought about the fall of prime minister Neville Chamberlain. He said: “You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go”. This was said to a prime minister of his own party.

Leo and Julian were part of the Establishment, even pillars of the Establishment. Julian married Catherine Macmillan, the daughter of Conservative prime minister, Harold Macmillan.

John Amery

So why was Julian so out-of-step with his fellow right-wingers on this of all issues? Leo’s older son and Julian’s brother, was John Amery. John was a fascist and Nazi collaborator during World War 2. He wasn’t just a sympathiser. In September 1942 he went to Germany. He suggested that Germany should form a British anti-communist legion. It is said that Hitler was impressed by John and allowed him to remain in Germany as a guest. Between 1942 and late 1944, John made regular pro-German propaganda radio broadcasts to Britain and to the Allied troops in north Africa.

At the end of the war he was captured by Allied forces. The arresting officer was Alan Whicker, later to become a famous broadcaster. John Amery was flown back to England on the same flight as the more infamous pro-Nazi propagandist, William Joyce, known as Lord Haw-Haw.

John’s father, Leo, tried to establish that he was mentally unwell, and Julian said he could not be tried for treason because he had become a Spanish citizen. Both these attempts to avoid prosecution were unsuccessful. At his trial in November 1945 John pleaded guilty to eight charges of treason and he was sentenced to death. His trial last just eight minutes.

The Times report of the trial noted that “Amery had kept his eyes on the Judge throughout his remarks and while he passed sentence. Showing no sign of emotion, he bowed with dignity to the Judge and turned to walk down the steps to the cells.”

John Amery was hanged 21 days later at Wandsworth Prison by the executioner Albert Pierrepoint who described Amery as “the bravest person I’d ever hanged”. On his way to the scaffold, Amery joked: “I’ve always wanted to meet you, Mr Pierrepoint, though not of course under these circumstances!”

It is said that because of his family connections, he had not expected the death penalty nor, when it was passed, that it would be carried out. He had hoped that his father’s influence might have saved him.

So it is no wonder that the death of a sibling in these circumstances had a profound impact on the 26-year-old Julian. Julian did not share his brother’s pro-Nazi views nor his support for Germany. Julian had himself served with distinction. He spent 1941–42 in the eastern Mediterranean and served as Liaison Officer to the Albanian Resistance Movement in 1943–44.

From time to time there are attempts to reopen discussions about the death penalty, not least after a hideous crime such as the murder of Sarah Payne in West Sussex. After the Birmingham and Guildford pub bombings, support for the reintroduction of the death penalty increased. Fortunately it wasn’t available to the judges at the trials of the Birmingham Six or the Guildford Four as all had their convictions later overturned.

Establishment figures, including the former Home Secretary, Priti Patel, have called for its reintroduction. Let us hope that they never succeed.

 

All Saints’ Day: Different Ways in Dealing with Death

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 1st November 2023)

In the Christian tradition, today is All Saints’ Day. Yesterday was All Hollows’ Eve or, as it has become known in secular circles, Halloween, when little children knock on doors, dressed up as witches and ghouls, threatening us with all manner of horrors if we don’t treat them to chocolates and sweets in quantities that will keep them on a constant sugar-high until Christmas.

But today and tomorrow we remember those who have died. Today is a solemn festival when all the saints, known and unknown, are remembered. It is followed, tomorrow, by All Souls Day when all the departed are remembered. 

A Frida Kahlo painting

The Mexicans do it in style. They call it the Day of the Dead which has a much less solemn tone and is portrayed as a holiday of joyful celebration rather than mourning. Sweets are given to children, and people have picnics, often on the graves of their loved ones. The Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, made decorated skulls and paintings a central theme for some of her work.

In England we gather at funerals. Some have a somber tone, while others are celebrations of life. I have been to some profoundly sad funerals, especially of those who have died young or in tragic circumstances. Others, usually those of older people, have been joyful and uplifting.

The most bizarre funeral I ever went to was that of the architect and former councillor, Nimrod Ping, at St Margaret’s in Rottingdean. Everyone was asked to come in beach attire and we were greeted with the seaside ditty, The sun has got its hat on, as we arrived at the church. Nimrod’s coffin was lined with pictures of steam trains, his brother had dyed his hair green for the occasion, and one of the hymns, if we can call it a hymn, was Monty Python’s Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. We sung it with gusto, even the line “Life’s a piece of sh**, when you look at it”, not something I ever expected to sing in a church.

My father-in-law, Ian Calder, was led into the chapel at Woodvale by a Scottish Piper, and the Red Flag has been played at many funerals of Labour Party members. At my dad’s funeral we played Louis Armstrong’s Sunny Side of the Street and my two sisters danced. There were only six of us, including the vicar, at his funeral as he died in the early weeks of Covid. A further 150 family members and friends, in Cape Town, the United States and here in England, watched the live-stream from the chapel in Shoreham.

 When I worked at St Dunstan’s, the home for blind ex-servicemen, I used to be asked to represent the organisation at the funerals of old men who had been blinded in the First World War. Often in their nineties, those with no families had few people at their funeral. On several occasions I was the sole mourner. After a while I asked not to go as the emotion that began to dominate was that of anger – these men had served their country, given their sight, and had their lives blighted, yet the only person attending their funerals was me, a 21-year-old conscientious objector from South Africa. That was how this country treated some of its veterans.

So today and tomorrow I will pause to remember those who have died, in my own family, friends and acquaintances, and some who I never knew whose lives influenced others. I will remember the lives that continue to be lost in Israel, Gaza and on the West Bank. Next week, as we approach Remembrance Sunday, I will remember the St Dunstaners who I knew, and my great uncle Tom who drowned when his merchant ship was sunk by a German torpedo in April 1918. He had no funeral or final resting place.

Last week I read the Argus report of the inquest into the death of Jef Jones who for many years led the congregation at the Unitarian Church in Brighton. I never met Jef but I was aware of him and his reputation. A friend spoke highly of him and his talks, and he will have brought hope and comfort to many through his ministry. He was described as an intelligent and thoughtful man with a sharp sense of humour. Yet he had his own struggles, and when they and physical pain became too much for him, he died by suicide, a very sad end to a life well-lived and well-loved. I am sorry not to have known him but his light continues to shine in the lives of those who did.