Labour election leaflet in Queens Park calls for ‘virile representation’

Following the resignations of the ‘Leicester Two’ from Brighton and Hove City Council, there are by-elections coming up in the Queens Park and the Kemptown wards.

I was reading a Labour leaflet from Queens Park, most of which I agree with. There was talk of lower rents, improving education, and the lot of people experiencing a cost-of-living crisis (“the lot of the poorer inhabitants” the leaflet said). There was a focus on unemployment, housing schemes, empty homes, and transport.

What struck me most was, according to the leaflet, the need for “representation of a virile type”, not something you read every day in election material.

In case you were wondering, this wasn’t a contemporary election leaflet from Labour’s Camilla Gauge, but one from 1935 when the Labour candidate was Richard Polling. I don’t know whether he was elected on that occasion but he did become a councillor, as did his son-in-law, Stan Fitch, and Stan’s son, the late Brian Fitch. It was Stan who gave me a copy of this leaflet.

Times have changed but the issues raised by Richard Polling – education, housing, rents, nursery education, etc. – remain as relevant today as they were in 1935. But as for ‘virile’ representation and leadership, I doubt it will be a concept that will loom large in Labour’s general election campaign!

Bernie Jordan: Conservative, Labour, Great Escaper

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 16th August 2023)

It would have been easy to miss Bernie and Irene as they did their shopping in the Co-op Food Hall on a Saturday morning. In the late 1990’s I saw them quite regularly and would chat with them. He knew that I had been a Labour councillor and worked for Brighton Housing Trust. I suspected he didn’t approve of either. He was, however, always very friendly.

Irene and Bernie Jordan during his year as Mayor of Hove

Other shoppers would have had no idea that this old man, with his dear wife on his arm, had a few years earlier been the Conservative Leader of Hove Borough Council. Bernie Jordan served as a councillor for 34 years and was Mayor of Hove in 1995/96. After Brighton and Hove came together as a unitary authority in 1997, he served one further term, standing down in 1999.

Afterwards, at an age when most people would be looking for a quiet life, Bernie was to make headlines again, not once but three more times.

The first occasion was in 2000 when, on the eve of its Conference in Brighton, he joined the Labour Party. He was one of the very last individuals I would have expected to join Labour. But perhaps the Labour Party of Tony Blair was not too much of a transition for him. He was photographed with Blair in the conference hotel and it made headline news.

A former Hove Labour councillor, Andy Richards, wrote to The Argus at the time: “(Bernie) was not known for his criticism of Tory policies and may best be remembered for assisting in the Tories’ attempt to privatise the management of council housing in Hove – a policy thankfully reversed by the incoming Labour administration in 1995. Bernie’s defection may, as Ivor Caplin says, be a sign of how Labour is broadening its appeal. Even Tories can now join!”

That might have been it for Bernie. As Irene grew more frail, she moved into a care home to be joined later by Bernie himself. My mother-in-law, Molly Calder, was in the same home around that time. My wife Jean would see Bernie when she visited. He wasn’t yet a resident himself but visited Irene daily. They remained devoted to each other.

But Bernie wasn’t finished. When he turned 17 in 1941, he joined the Royal Navy as an electrician. He survived the deadly Arctic Convoys taking supplies to Russia, and in the North Atlantic. Among the medals awarded to him was the Atlantic Star. In June 1944, shortly before his 20th birthday, he took part in the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy. Those of us who have never been under relentless enemy bombardment cannot even begin to appreciate the noise, the smell, the terror of those landings.

June 2014 saw the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Old comrades gathered on the beaches of Normandy for what was likely to be the last such gathering of veterans. Bernie Jordan was determined to be there to honour his fallen comrades. Efforts to get him a ticket for this memorial event were, for some reason, not successful. So, defying the care home management and concealing his medals under his raincoat, he made his own way to France and proudly took his place at the remembrance service sitting no more than 100 metres away from The Queen and countless other heads of state.

Notwithstanding the consternation caused by his sudden disappearance from the care home, his return to Hove led the television news, and Bernie appeared smiling and waving on the front page of almost every daily newspaper. He told the press: “I expect I will be in some trouble. But it was worth it … I loved every minute. I’d do it again tomorrow!”

Following his ‘great escape’, he became an Honorary Alderman of Brighton and Hove. The mayor at the time, Brian Fitch (who sadly passed away recently) said of Bernie that “his recent exploits delighted the media, entertained the general public, worried his friends at (the care home) and completely bemused his family. It’s his mix of self-effacing bravery and humour, wisdom and warmth, experience and perspective that prompted me to nominate Bernie as honorary alderman.”

Bernie died six months later, in January 2015. His beloved wife of 68 years, Irene, passed away just 24 hours later, devoted to each other to the very end.

But that is not the end of Bernie and Irene’s story. Bernie’s determined return to the beaches of Normandy has now been immortalised on film. The Great Escaper is due to be released in the autumn. It stars Michael Caine as Bernie and the late Glenda Jackson as Irene. It was Jackson’s last film role.

Brian Fitch: Larger than life, funny and a dedicated public servant

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 7th June 2023 and is based on a very similar piece on this blog posted a couple of weeks ago)

If there was one Brighton and Hove councillor who, over the last few decades, was larger than life, it was Brian Fitch who has recently passed away. His funeral takes place tomorrow. I served as a councillor with him on the old Brighton Borough Council for seven years and kept in touch with him over subsequent years, not least when he was Mayor and BHT Sussex was one of his three charities that he supported that year.

Brian and Norah Fitch

To say that it was Brian’s year as Mayor would be to ignore the role played by his wife, Norah, who, if anything, was the driving force behind the charitable fundraising and many other aspects of that year’s Mayoralty. Brian chose three charities to support: The Martlets in memory of his brother Reg who had passed away not long before, BHT Sussex in memory of his father Stan who was a lifelong housing campaigner, and The Argus Appeal because of the support it provides to many charities and communities. Together, Brian and Norah raised over £47,000 for his charities. At the time I wrote that the year had been “great fun, not least because of the unique, entertaining, and extraordinary contribution of the then Mayoress, Norah Fitch.”

He also served as the Mayor of Brighton Borough in the 1980s before the coming together of Brighton and Hove.

Brian was born in Brighton into a local political dynasty. His father, Stan, was a councillor for many years while his uncle Reg also served on the Labour benches. His maternal grandfather, William Polling, was a councillor in the 1930s. His brother, Rod, unsuccessfully stood for Parliament for Labour in 1983 in Brighton Kemptown.

Brian was one of the most gifted orators that I came across on the council. He used to speak off-the-cuff in a humorous and compelling way. He was someone who saw the funny side of so many situations. He could make councillors laugh and once you have people laughing you can get them to support you.

He could also talk absolute nonsense such as when he opposed the excavation of chalk from Sheepcote Valley, describing it as “Brighton’s white gold”. When funding cuts resulted in the central reservations on roads not being mowed, he said it was to create “inner city wildlife zones”.

His most successful take-down of government policy was when he adapted a Margaret Thatcher speech about the sale of council houses by saying that you could tell our council housing because they were the ones “with new front doors, new windows, new roofs, and new kitchens and bathrooms.”

I once served with him on a committee made up of, to put it mildly, an eclectic even eccentric group of people. In this setting Brian was a giggler and we just had to look at each other to completely lose control.

Brian was a lifelong peace campaigner and was instrumental in Brighton becoming a Peace Messenger City in the 1980s, and he represented the town at numerous international peace gatherings.

First elected to Brighton Borough Council in 1973 in Elm Grove, Brian represented several wards including being elected in Hangleton and Knoll in 2003.

He coined a handy catch-phrase which he deployed successfully in election campaigns over the years: “Everyone knows someone who has been helped by Brian Fitch”.

Another successful campaigning tool was his ability to run campaigns to save bus-routes that, he claimed, were under threat. After collecting signatures on a petition, and a few emotive press releases, the bus company would confirm that the bus route was not going to be cut. In truth, the route had never been under threat but, what the hell, it helped Brian in his campaign.

For many years he chaired the Parks Committee. This was at a time when the parks and gardens of our beautiful city were the envy of many, neatly trimmed with blossoms abounding in the spring, such a contrast to today’s sorry state of affairs. Brian was the driving force behind the building of the Moulsecoomb Leisure Centre. Perhaps a fitting memorial to Brian would be to rename the Centre after him.

While in a different political party, he represented Hangleton and Knoll at the same time as the Conservative Dawn Barnett. They found an accommodation and worked together in the interest of their residents. On hearing of his death, Dawn said: “It’s quite a shock. I think Brian had a big impact on politics in Brighton and Hove for many, many years. As a fellow councillor we got on well together and just because we were in different parties didn’t mean we had to be enemies. We used to have a laugh and enjoy each other’s company.”

Brian found huge happiness with his wife Norah and my thoughts and prayers are with her and the family at this very sad time.

Brian Fitch: 1931 to 2023

If there was one Brighton and Hove councillor who, over the last few decades, was larger than life, it was Brian Fitch who has recently passed away. I served as a councillor with him on the old Brighton Borough Council for seven years and kept in touch with him over subsequent years, not least when he was Mayor and BHT Sussex was one of his three charities that he supported that year.

Brian and Norah Fitch

He also served as the Mayor of Brighton Borough in the 1980s before the coming together of Brighton and Hove.

Brian was born in Brighton into a local political dynasty. His father, Stan, was a councillor for many years while his uncle Reg also served on the Labour benches. His maternal grandfather, Harry Polling, was a councillor in the 1930s. His brother, Rod, unsuccessfully stood for Labour in 1983 in Brighton Kemptown.

Norah and Brian Fitch in 2014 seeing off a group who were cycling to Paris to raise money for BHT Sussex

In defending cuts to grass cuttings, he argued that it was a deliberate decision to make “inner city wild-life zones” and when opposing the excavation of chalk in Sheepcote Valley he described the near-worthless substance as “Brighton’s white gold”.

I once served on a particular committee made up of, to put it mildly, an eclectic even eccentric group of people. In this setting Brian was a giggler and we just had to look at each other for us both to lose complete control.

Brian was a lifelong peace campaigner and was instrumental in Brighton becoming a Peace Messenger City in the 1980s, and he represented the town at numerous international peace gatherings.

First elected to Brighton Borough Council in 1973 in Elm Grove, Brian represented several wards including being elected in Hangleton and Knoll in 2003.

He coined a handy catch-phrase which he deployed successfully in election campaigns over the years: “Everyone knows someone who has been helped by Brian Fitch”.

Another successful campaigning tool was his ability to run campaigns to save bus-routes that were under threat. After collecting signatures on a petition, and a few emotive press releases, the bus company would confirm that the bus route was not going to be cut. In truth, the route had never under threat but, what the hell, it helped Brian in his campaign.

Brian found huge happiness with his wife Norah and my thoughts and prayers are with her and the family at this very sad time.

Filling in the blanks from the 1964 and 1986 Labour Groups

I am very grateful to Harry Steer for filling in the last remaining gaps from the 1964 Labour Group. Harry is the last survivor from that era. The missing councillors were: Arthur King, Jim Currie, Arthur Skinner, Dennis Woolley and Arthur Illman (who was actually an Alderman along with Bert Briggs and Stanley Deason). Thanks, too, to Pam Montgomery for mentioning her dad, Harry George, one of the 1964 Vintage.

The 1964 Labour Group included Harry Steer, Ray Blackwood, Dennis Hobden, Bert Briggs, Nobby Clarke, George Humphrey, Stanley Deason, Stan Fitch, Idwal Francis, Don Ranger, Bill Sheldon, Bert Clack, Graham Carter, Bob Millard, Harry George, Arthur King, Jim Currie, Arthur Skinner, Dennis Woolley and Arthur Illman.

Harry does make the point that in 1964 there were women Labour councillors.

As for the 1986 Labour Administration, the 24^th and final member, who I had omitted, was Jon Allen. Thanks for all the hints and suggestions. Several people mentioned were County Councillors because, until 1997, we had two tiers of local government which was replaced by the Unitary Authority.

So the complete list is: Ian Duncan, Mick Johnson, Joyce Edmond-Smith, Pat Hawkes, Ray Blackwood, Tehm Framroze, David Lepper, Chris Morley, Brian Fitch, Gill Sweeting, Christine Simpson, Jenny Backwell, Jacqui Lythell, Joe Townsend, Richard Stanton, Steve Bassam, Bob Davies, Nobby Clarke, Denis Hobden, Brennan Turner, Arthur King, Gill Haynes, Jon Allen and Andy Winter.

Can anyone remember who the Chief Whip was? The one who imposed discipline on the Group? You might just be surprised…..

How Labour took control, with the assistance of the Conservative Mayor, can be found in my tribute to that Mayor, Bob Cristofili.

Remembering the members of the first ever Labour Council in Brighton, elected in 1986

(This item was first posted on 4th November 2018)

Yesterday (3rd November 2018) I wrote an item regarding Ray Blackwood who passed away recently.

I was contacted by someone who said that Ray was just one of two surviving members of the 1964 Labour Group on Brighton Borough Council, the other being Harry Steer.

This was before my time. Has anyone got any further names and even, perhaps, a photo? I would love to see it.

All of this got me thinking about the first Labour administration in Brighton, elected 32 years ago in 1986. I tried to remember the names of all 23 of my colleagues. I listed 22 but got stuck on the final two. The I realised I hadn’t included myself, but for the life of me I can’t remember the 24th member. Can anyone help?

The seven women Labour councillors in 1986 (l-r) Christine Simpson, Pat Hawkes, Gill Sweeting, Joyce Edmond-Smith, Jacqui Lythell, Jenny Backwell and Gill Haynes

The 23 were: Ian Duncan, Mick Johnson, Joyce Edmond-Smith, Pat Hawkes, Ray Blackwood, Tehm Framroze, David Lepper, Chris Morley, Brian Fitch, Gill Sweeting, Christine Simpson, Jenny Backwell, Jacqui Lythell, Joe Townsend, Richard Stanton, Steve Bassam, Bob Davies, Nobby Clarke, Denis Hobden, Brennan Turner, Arthur King, Gill Haynes and me.

What is very sad is that, with Ray’s passing, over a third of the 1986 administration are no longer with us.

Labour was only able to take control thanks to the decision of the outgoing Conservative Mayor, Bob Cristofili, who used his casting vote in favour of the Labour nominee, Jacqui Lythell, having used his personal vote to support the Conservative nominee. The vote had been tied 24-24. Bob passed away recently. You can find my tribute to him here.

(Update: the 24th member of that first Labour Council was Jon Allen)

The new Mayor of Brighton and Hove has adopted a new approach to supporting his (27) charities

(This article first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 14th May 2016)

2015/16 was a record-breaking year for the Mayor’s Charities. By raising £60,000, Cllr. Lynda Hyde, who stood down as the Mayor of Brighton and Hove on Thursday, broke the previous record set by Brian Fitch in 2014/15.

In that year, BHT was one of three beneficiaries and the amounts raised went a long way to our own record-breaking year in raising funds for First Base Day Centre. Heaven knows, the services offered by First Base are needed more than ever before. The enthusiasm and energy that Brian and Norah Fitch showed was a huge encouragement.

Pete West with an election opponent in the 2011 Brighton and Hove City Council elections

The new mayor, Cllr Peter West, is taking an interesting and novel approach to his charities. Rather than selecting two or three who would benefit from his fundraising efforts, he has decided to work with a total of 27 charities. While the Mayor’s Charity Committee traditionally organises events throughout the year, Mayor West will be supporting events organised by the charities themselves.

Will this approach be better or worse? I think it is certainly worth a try even though it breaks, in some way, with tradition. If the 27 charities each raise £3,000 with the support of the Mayor, that would raise £81,000, itself beating Lynda Hyde’s record. As one of the twenty seven charities chosen by Cllr. West, BHT will use this opportunity to raise as much as possible.

I wish Pete West a very successful year as the First Citizen of our city, and I thank Lynda Hyde for all she has done over the last year.

A record breaking year for the Mayor’s Charities, thanks to the team work of Brian and Norah Fitch

Brighton Housing Trust, was one of the charities supported by former Mayor, Brian Fitch, during his year as Mayor.

It is only the second time that BHT has been one of the Mayor’s charities, the first time was in the 1990’s when Gill Sweeting was Mayor.

The year as one of the Mayor’s charities, along with the Argus Appeal and the Martlets Hospice, has been great fun, not least because of the unique, entertaining, and extraordinary contribution of the then Mayoress, Norah Fitch.

What is more, I understand that the £47,500 raised is the second largest amount ever raised, topped only in a year when a very large one-off donation was made. The money received will go entirely on supporting the work we do at First Base Day Centre.

The successful year is down to the team work of Brian and Norah Fitch. I thank them and wish them well in their retirement.

A vote of thanks to Brian Fitch and David Smith

Each week I will be writing a small Opinion column for the Brighton Argus. This is the text of today’s column (5th May 2015):

This time next week it will all be over. We will know the results of all the elections. The freshly elected Prime Minister will be working in Downing Street and the new administration in Brighton and Hove will be getting down to business.

On the other hand, deadlock might exist, locally and nationally. Deal or no deal? Confusion might reign.

But today I would like to pay tribute to two long-standing councillors who won’t be re-elected. Brian Fitch and David Smith have been part of the fabric of the local political scene since the 1970s. Both have served as Mayor, in Brian’s case, twice. Both have been tireless public servants. But both have now decided to call it a day.

For me it is almost the end of an era. With the retirement of Brian and David, there remains just one councillor, Geoffrey Theobald, with whom I served when I was elected as a councillor in 1985.

I didn’t have the stamina to serve for thirty years or more. My former colleagues might say I lacked the party discipline to survive. It does take huge dedication to serve for for as long as Brian and David.

Politicians are often unjustifiably criticised, but most are selfless servants who receive inadequate recognition. For all those standing down, for those who might lose their seats, to those who are standing for election, you deserve our praise and appreciation. To Brian Fitch and David Smith, from me, a special vote of thanks.

Once a ballroom for the future King of England, now a day centre for homeless people

BHT has a habit of taking on interesting buildings. Our head office was once a bank (we still have the vault, a great place to let off steam because nobody can hear you). Our main office in Hastings was once a school, and we have 36 studio flats constructed of converted shipping containers. One of the houses in our Addiction Services used to be three fishermen’s cottages.

But our day centre for homeless men and women must take the prize, anywhere in the UK, for its origins. It was once the ballroom of the Prince Regent where he and Mrs Fitzherbert indulged in sex, drugs and rock and rock and roll, or whatever it was called in those days. Iin 1822 it was connected to the Royal Pavilion and became a private chapel for George IV, and subsequently William IV and Queen Victoria (who isn’t particularly known for her interest in rock and roll). aparently, Victoria hated the Royal Pavilion and was only to please to offload it to the Brighton Commissioners.

In 1850, the Castle Ballroom (the chapel) was moved, brick by brick, a mile up the road to its current location in Montpelier Place. After the 1939-45 war, St Stephen’s also served as a centre for deaf people until BHT acquired the building in 1984.

Last weekend, the Mayor of Brighton and Hove, Cllr Brian Fitch, accompanied by the Mayoress, Mrs Norah Fitch, attended a charity fundraising evening at St Stephen’s Hall in Montpelier Place, to celebrate the building’s history and heritage.

The evening, which included a three course meal prepared by BHT’s social enterprise and training project, Dine!, was attended by thirty five guests, including Baroness Gould of Potternewton, former Member of Parliament, David Lepper, and councillors.

The evening, which included a silent auction, raised over £750 for the Mayor’s Charities which this year are the Martlets, the Argus Appeal, and BHT itself.

The guests heard talks on the history of the building by heritage experts Nick Tyson, Curator at The Regency Town House, Dr Tracy Anderson, Post-doctoral Researcher at The Royal Pavilion and Sara Peskett, BHT’s Heritage Officer, a post funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Sara said that the evening highlighted the fascinating history of St Stephens Hall, how it has evolved from being a ballroom used by a future King of England, a chapel for Queen Victoria, and now a centre for homeless men and women.

She sid: “The building has seen much change over the last two hundred years. It now is, itself, a place of change, where men and women with a history of sleeping rough are supported to make the changes needed to move away from rough sleeping, into education, training and, ultimately, work and secure accommodation.”

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