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.

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.  

It’s Gomez Gray against Smokin’ Siân for the undisputed heavyweight title of Brighton Pavilion

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 3rd January 2024)

Ladies and Gentlemen, the main contest on this election card is the head-to-head fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship of Brighton Pavilion. In the red corner is Tom ‘Gomez’ Gray fighting out of Brighton via Liverpool. In the green corner, ‘Smokin’ Siân Berry from Camden in old London Town.

The battle lines are drawn for the campaign to succeed Caroline Lucas as the Member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion. This will be a tough contest to call. Neither is likely to strike a knockout blow and it could come down to a split decision on points or, at least, a handful of votes.

The electoral tide is with Labour. When Caroline was first elected in 2010, Labour was way down in the polls, and the big ‘M’ – momentum (not the left wing organisation) – was with the Greens who were poised to seize control of the City Council the following year. The situation is now reversed. Labour enjoys a healthy national lead in the polls, notwithstanding the tepid Sir Keir Starmer. The Greens locally are now in the Doldrums having been humiliated in May’s elections to Brighton and Hove City Council while Labour had its best result ever.

Siân and Tom have different problems when it comes to commitments they might wish to make to the electorate. Tom can’t promise anything meaningful without incurring the wrath of Rachel Reeves if there is any cost attached. Meanwhile Siân has the opposite problem. Any promises she makes will be meaningless because, even if elected, she will never be in a position to deliver on any of them.

Labour should not take this as a reason to discourage people from voting Green. Caroline Lucas has shown that a lone Green MP can effectively shine a light on issues. Not so for yet another Labour backbencher who will be lost in the crowd, especially a backbencher in a party likely to have a stonking great majority.  Hundreds of under-employed backbenchers will wish to be seen by the Whips as being on best behaviour in order to secure promotion to the lowest bag-carrying position. 

Tom will face tricky questions over local issues, such as the proposed closure of St Bartholomew’s school in the constituency. Can he criticise, even campaign against, the Labour administration that is currently consulting on the closure? Siân will have no such difficulty and is already taking a stand on issues for which she will never be responsible. Caroline used to distance herself from the Green administration so much so that people used to say that they would never vote Green again but had no hesitation in saying that they would vote for her.

There is one specific issues that Tom will need to clarify: his views on women’s sex-based rights. Labour dodged a bullet by rejecting Eddie Izzard as its candidate. Not only does Eddie not support single-sex spaces for women, he actually intrudes on them on a regular basis. Tom will need to say where he stands. The trans rights lobby, including in his own party, is very vociferous, especially on social media, but they are not significant electorally.

All current Labour MPs were elected on the following manifesto commitment: “Ensure that the single-sex-based exemptions contained in the Equality Act 2010 are understood and fully enforced in service provision.” Last summer the Labour Party shifted from its previous support for self-identification which would have allowed people to legally change gender without a medical diagnosis. The party has also recommitted itself to ensuring that some single-sex services and places should be accessed only by biological women.

The Greens have lost support amongst many women and men because of their uncompromising policies on trans rights over women’s sex-based rights. Siân has made this a major part of her pitch saying she will never compromise on this. She even stood down as party leader because of a slight adjustment in the Green Party policy. Siân should expect questions on her position on women’s sex-based rights and, if she stands by her long-standing position, she can expect to lose support. There is also an employment tribunal discrimination case being brought against the Green Party by Shahrar Ali who was dismissed from his role as party spokesperson because of his support for women’s sex-based rights. This case might yet reflect negatively on Siân.  

Notwithstanding the above, in Tom and Siân we have two very engaging, strong candidates who will provide us voters in Brighton Pavilion with a pleasant dilemma as to whom we want as our next MP. Support for women’s sex-based rights might just prove decisive in a close contest.

The top ten most read items on my blog in 2023

I have reviewed my most-read items during 2023. Two of them were written in previous years including the most read item which has now been the most-read item for three years running. Here are Iinks to the top 10 most read.

#1: Tony Benn’s analogy of management bureaucracy in the NHS is still relevant to us today https://wp.me/pDTWu-1Jn

#2: The Greens lost in Brighton and Hove because they were poor communicators, poor administrators, and exceptionally poor politicians https://wp.me/pDTWu-21p 

#3: Time for an end to Brighton Pride: it has become toxic https://wp.me/pDTWu-23T 

#4: Why choosing Eddie Izzard as its candidate in Brighton Pavilion would be a disaster for the Labour Party https://wp.me/pDTWu-23J 

#5: Labour’s Selection in Brighton Pavilion: Having Eddie Izzard on the shortlist is an absolute joke https://wp.me/pDTWu-271 

#6: Eddie Izzard’s Political Obituary https://wp.me/pDTWu-27u 

#7: A little known condition, Poland Syndrome, that effects the rich and famous (and others) https://wp.me/pDTWu-1WB 

#8: The decline of Pride and a question about its future https://wp.me/pDTWu-23P 

#9: Labour and the Greens should have known better than to allow Ed Miliband and Caroline Lucas anywhere near Russell Brand https://wp.me/pDTWu-24T 

#10: Why the Green Party’s Sian Berry is almost certainly not going to hold Brighton Pavilion at the next general election https://wp.me/pDTWu-23m 

Rishi Sunak: an empty shell in an expensive suit. My review of the year.

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 27th December 2023)

As we approach the new year, many will reflect on the last twelve months.  Who would have thought that we would have witnessed the near terminal implosion of the Conservative Party? Even in the last three weeks, the party has further torn itself apart over one of its flagship policies – immigration and the ill-conceived Rwanda initiative. Rishi Sunak looks increasingly forlorn and tetchy,  . He can’t please the left or right in his own party. What hope has he of convincing the country that they can trust the Conservatives?

The May local elections in Brighton and Hove saw the humiliation of the Green Party, seeing the number of its councillors slump from 21 to just seven, a result even worse than the eleven I had forecast, a forecast that had attracted scorn from several Greens. The Conservatives fared slightly worse, ending up with an historic low of just six seats. In the case of the Conservatives, the blame for their performance was down entirely to their national leadership, while the Greens locally were the architects of their own misfortune. They were poor communicators, poor administrators, and exceptionally poor politicians.

The Brighton and Hove Labour Party had its most successful election ever, winning 38 seats. But the wheels have begun to come off. Within six months, two of their councillors had been expelled from the Party following allegations that they might actually live in Leicester; another has been removed from committees and representing the Council because of a rather innocuous, dated tweet that has been interpreted as transphobic and for which she, regrettably, apologised; and a fourth has resigned just six months after being elected.  One must wonder about the competence of the Party that failed to do basic due diligence before imposing three of these candidates on its members and on the electorate.

Internationally, the war in Ukraine rumbles on without any sign of a solution. That conflict has been overshadowed by the appalling terrorist attack in southern Israel on 7th October that sickened all reasonable, decent people. The physical and sexual violence on that day should have been condemned without reservation and should continue to be condemned.  What followed has seen an unacceptable loss of life amongst thousands of the civilian population of Gaza.  The humanitarian disaster we are witnessing in Gaza should also be condemned by all reasonable, decent people. One horrific war crime does not justify another, nor should any of it justify the increase in anti-semitism in the U.K.

On a personal level, after 41 years working in the housing and social care sector, 37 of these with the wonderful charity BHT Sussex and 20 years as its chief executive, I retired. I was given a wonderful send off and humbled to be awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Sussex. In retirement I have been freed from the daily stress of leading a large organisation with over 300 employees that works with 10,000 people annually. Gone, too, are the out-of-hours crisis phone calls. Gone is the accountability to a Board, a regular source of stress for many chief executives. Gone, too, sadly, is the monthly salary!

All that has been replaced by a different pace of life, one that has allowed time for reading, thinking, writing and walking Molly the Dog. My wife cannot believe that there is so much cricket, rugby and football that demands to be watched, the highlight for this South African being the Springboks winning the Rugby World Cup for a record fourth time.

So what comes next?  The English men are unlikely to match the success of the Lionesses in the Euros. Will there be much for Brits to celebrate at the Paris Olympics, and will Britain once again score nul point in Eurovision? There is likely to be a general election in 2024 and only a fool would bet against a thumping Labour majority. But how long will it take before the gloss comes off the Labour government as it adheres to Conservative spending plans while not growing the economy at a rate necessary to meet the hopes and aspirations of the electorate?

Will the Conservative Party exist this time next year, or will it have become the two parties that seem determined to emerge? Will the Greens retain Brighton Pavilion? It’s all to play for, in my opinion, as the Londoner Siân Berry is up against the local Tom Gray. For those of us who love elections, this is likely to be a bumper year, and I for one cannot wait for hostilities to commence!

Will Labour get its house in order and end the Council’s hypocrisy over tagging and graffiti?

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 22nd November 2023)

For many a long year Brighton and Hove City Council has had a hypocritical attitude towards tagging and graffiti. There have been claims that tagging was the responsibility of just a few individuals when that was patently untrue.  Then sanctions were threatened against business owners who didn’t clean up tagging on their property while the council exempted itself from such penalties on its properties.

Skateboard Park on The Level

Earlier this year I highlighted the shocking state of graffiti and tagging on The Level, specifically the children’s playground and skateboard park.  Within a week of me raising questions with the City Council, much of the tagging in the children’s area had been painted out.  Before I could become self-satisfied that this column had achieved one small victory, it was reported that the council had cleaned the area because of a planned visit by the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman!  Since then no further action has been taken, not least in cleaning up the graffiti and tagging in the skateboard park.

The Argus reported that Ms Braverman met Sussex Police Chief Constable Jo Shiner and Inspector James Ward to discuss success in tackling antisocial behaviour and violence in Brighton, and that the Home Secretary was seen at The Level where Sussex Police have used targeted, evidence-led policing to reduce crime in so-called “hotspot areas”. She was also told about how a partnership approach at The Level had reduced antisocial behaviour in the park by 55 per cent.

Those of us who live in the area and who do our shopping on nearby London Road might beg to disagree.  In the thirty years that I have lived and worked in this area I can honestly say that crime and anti-social behaviour is now at an all-time high.  I can accept that reported crime might have reduced but what is the point of reporting crime when the police do not respond.  There is open shoplifting and drug dealing, including on The Level, notwithstanding periodic initiatives by the police.

Last week the council agreed new tougher measures against taggers and fly tippers. Vandals caught tagging will by fined up to £500, an increase from £150, while fines for fly tipping will go from £400 to £1,000, littering from £150 to £300 and fly posting from £150 to £500.  Councillor Tim Rowkins, who chairs the the Environment, South Downs and Sea Committee, said: “Graffiti is a blight on the city and we need to get on top of the problem.”  He said that increasing fines was only as good as enforcement and that, in the past six months, three times as many graffiti perpetrators had been caught as in the same period last year.

There is some suggestion that taggers will be required to clean up their vandalism.  I won’t hold my breath.  Yes, there will be some high-profile examples of this happening, but I am unconvinced by this style of ‘muscular politics’. We’ve seen it before with Trump, that he would build the wall and “the best part is that Mexico will pay for it.”  A lot of people believed him.  Similarly Sunak pledged to “stop the boats” yet they still come. Braverman’s dream of seeing flights of illegal immigrants taking off for Rwanda remains just that, a dream and a very costly one at that.

I’ve written before that I hate graffiti, especially mindless, destructive tagging. I wrote: “Some shallow individual with obviously no artistic talent, in a pathetic attempt to be noticed, creeps around town at night spraying tags that are neither artful nor edifying. Some of the aerosol paints used are bad for the environment, and damage the brickwork. It puts private individuals, the council, charities and businesses to unnecessary expense.  While middle class Brighton might decry tagging, it has a contradictory and permissive attitude to so-called street art. I see very little difference between this and nighttime tagging. Both deface buildings and public places. While the artistic merit of street art might be one notch up from tagging, it does nothing for me.”

I wish the new Labour administration well with its initiative.  It already has had some success with clearing the weeds from our pavements, and for that they should be applauded.  I will continue to watch the state of graffiti and tagging in the city, starting with the appalling state of the skateboard park on The Level. The City Council previously clarified that the “only piece of graffiti that is acceptable would be commissioned murals” and “any other graffiti is classed as ‘problem graffiti’.”  Hopefully the Labour administration will demonstrate that, unlike its predecessor, it is not hypocritical and will get its own house in order on The Level.

Has Labour sabotaged its own campaigns in Brighton Pavilion and in East Worthing & Shoreham?

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 15th November 2023)

Following the King’s Speech, there is speculation now as to when the general election will be called. Three dates have been suggested: May, the early autumn, or December 2024. The election must be held by January 2025.

My guess is that Rishi Sunak will go for late September or early October. An April poll would be too early for any Budget giveaway to have any effect. December would mean very dark evenings, although a low turnout might benefit the Conservatives. The reason I believe it will be September or October is because any tax cut or give-away bonanza in the spring Budget will have had time to settle in.  However, any such election gimmick will probably be too little and too late for this walking-dead Conservative government.

In Brighton and Hove, the early autumn date would mean that students will not have returned in time to register to vote, something that would seriously disadvantage the Greens in Brighton Pavilion who rely on a large student turnout.

Previously, I have forecast that Labour would win seven seats in Sussex (including taking Brighton Pavilion from the Greens). I have predicted the same number of seats for the Conservatives with the Liberal Democrats winning two. This forecast is now being compromised by the inexplicable actions of the Labour Party which appears to be doing its utmost not to win in East Worthing and Shoreham, and in Brighton Pavilion.

In the Worthing seat, not a single local candidate has been shortlisted. The party has denied party members the options of selecting as their candidate either of two respected Labour councillors, Cat Arnold and Carl Walker, such a shortsighted decision. Labour has performed phenomenally well to gain control of the Borough Council, yet the party seems not to want to build on its success in this constituency. Meanwhile, in Worthing West, the Labour leader of the council, Dr Becky Cooper, has been shortlisted. The party would be foolish not to select her as its candidate as she stands far-and-away the best chance of being elected.

Labour has never won either Worthing seat but the migration of families from Brighton has changed the demographics, just as happened previously in Hove and Portslade, once the safest-of-safe Conservative seats, now solidly Labour.

The Green Party’s Siân Berry who has hit the ground running in Brighton Pavilion

Meanwhile, in Brighton Pavilion, the Greens selected Siân Berry several months ago. She has hit the ground running and her name recognition is increasing. Labour, on the other hand, is dragging its feet. Originally the selection was due to take place in September. Two contenders, Eddie Izzard and Tom Gray, have already announced that they are seeking the nomination. Even if the selection was to take place now, the problem for Labour is it would run into the Christmas period and its candidate, whoever that might be, will have lost three months of invaluable campaigning time. Instead, they will have to wait until the new year, in the depths of winter, before launching their campaign. This would be less of a problem if the election is in September or October but might prove to be a fatal error if Sunak goes for May 2nd or 9th.

There is still no word from the leader of the Council, Bella Sankey: will she be seeking the nomination? The timing of the decision by Caroline Lucas to stand down has not helped Bella. As a relatively new councillor, and having been leader for just over six months, it might appear that Bella is being opportunist by becoming the candidate and subsequently MP, jumping from one opportunity to the next to get into Parliament. 

But if she doesn’t put herself forward now, which would be a shame, the opportunity to become an MP in the City she loves will have passed. By 2029, whoever is elected in 2024, be it Siân Berry or one of the other less-than-convincing Labour contenders, will have established themselves as the sitting MP and they will be hard, if not impossible, to shift. By 2029, Bella won’t be the exciting new kid on the block but she will be burdened by the failings of her administration, a fate that inevitably befalls every leader of the Council.

And by 2029, Labour will not be enjoying the bumper lead it currently has in the polls, thanks to the ever-increasing shambles of a government being led by Rishi Sunak. Rather, a sense of sheer disappointment and bewildered incomprehension will have set in as the Starmer government fails to provide the improvements and the housing that the country needs, unlike the Blair government which on the domestic front in 1997 things really did get better. 

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.

Welcoming the Greens to Brighton for their annual conference

Green Party activists are descending on Brighton this weekend for the party’s annual conference. Sessions at the conference include: ‘How we won big in May’ and ‘Brighton: how we can win, what we learnt from the past 13 years and the plan to elect Siân’.

Graphic: Election Maps (@electionmapsuk)

Clearly the party is in good spirits and feeling upbeat. In May, the party did ‘win big’ and exceeded all previous achievements in local elections … except in Brighton.

To assist the Greens in their deliberations, I am providing links to some items I wrote after the local elections and following the selection of Siân Berry as its candidate to defend Caroline Lucas’s seat in Brighton Pavilion:

The Greens lost in Brighton and Hove because they were poor communicators, poor administrators, and exceptionally poor politicians

Why the Green Party’s Sian Berry is almost certainly not going to hold Brighton Pavilion at the next general election

And before anyone suggests I am pro-Labour and anti-Green, I have voted for Green Party candidates more often since 2010 that all other parties combined. I left the Labour Party in 1994 (having been a councillor for seven years) and haven’t been a member of any party since then. I don’t spare the Labour Party criticism. Recently, relating to a working class former Tory councillor, I wrote: “The fact that she was not a Labour councillor is an indictment of the failures of that party to offer a political home to her and others alongside the academics and middle class white colour workers in the local Labour Party.” I’ve written: “The Stepford Frontbenchers of the Labour Party with their hollowed-out, lifeless eyes and robotic answers…”.  On Russell Brand, I wrote: “Labour and the Greens should have known better than to allow Ed Miliband and Caroline Lucas anywhere near Brand.”

Yes, I have been critical of the Greens. The crop of councillors up to the local elections formed the most incompetent administration I have witnessed in over 40 years as an activist and subsequently observer of local Brighton politics. They had a few exceptional councillors but as a group they were an embarrassment to their party and deserved the mauling that they received.”

I hope the Green delegates enjoy their time in the City. But if you want to learn lessons about why the Greens were so utterly rejected locally, do read these links.

Time for an end to Brighton Pride: it has become toxic

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 9th August 2023)

Last Saturday, notwithstanding the rain and wind, tens of thousands of people turned out for the annual Brighton Pride. I have been on Pride marches for many years. I used to joke that I always stood out from the crowd of exotically dressed (and undressed) revellers by going, uniquely, as a boring middle-aged man.  I was told that I carried off this persona as if I lived it every day!

But I didn’t go on the march this year. I just watched some of the parade as it passed through London Road. It wasn’t the wind and rain that deterred me. I would not have gone even if it had been glorious weather.  This may be an unpopular view but I have deep concerns about what Pride has become. The level of alcohol and drug use is depressing, resulting in personal crises for some.  I know traders in London Road who dread the day, shutting up shop because trade is non-existent, because of the aggro they experience, and the open dealing of drugs.

Residents in neighbouring streets, too, do not look forward to the day, seeing their front gardens turned to public toilets and worse.  When I was at BHT Sussex, we would arrange security for our residential alcohol and drug recovery services which is on the route, such was the appalling behaviour of some revellers. 

Brighton Pride 2019

In normal years – when not impacted by rain and rail problems – the amount of plastic waste that Pride generates shames this environmentally-conscious city, and the amount of broken glass provides an ongoing hazard for dogs.  This year it was much better, partly due to the provision of bins and portaloos. Yet we have lost access to Preston Park for ten days, including the Secret Garden and The Rockery.

I think Pride has had its day and it’s time to call a halt to it.  It has become an excuse for alcohol and drug binging, of corporate posturing, and political expediency.  Businesses spare no expense to assert their support for LGBT issues. Perhaps they could rather reduce their prices or support food banks during this cost-of-living crisis.

Politicians feel obliged to attend. So do leaders of the police, fire and ambulance services. Attendance at Pride has become a shallow, tokenistic gesture for many.

It wasn’t always the event that it is today. In the 1980s I went on one of the earliest Brighton Pride marches, from Hove Town Hall to Preston Park. There were only about 200 of us marching that day. It was more of a political demonstrations. I was one of just six Brighton Borough Councillors willing to take part.

Preston Park during Pride 1992

The reception on the streets was sometimes hostile, with threats of violence and beer cans being thrown at us.  At Preston Park, there were few stalls and little celebration beyond a few truly political speeches. I have a photograph I took in the park at the end of one Pride march. There were just two stalls, one selling a publication called Daring Hearts which recorded the lesbian and gay history of Brighton and Hove from the 1950s and 60s.

Following one march, there were some outrageous homophobic statements by a Conservative Brighton councillor quoted in The Sun. In response, my Labour council colleague Jean Calder proposed, and I seconded, the first-ever pro lesbian and gay motion debated by the Council.  A few days later, Jean and I were subject to ‘loony leftie’ slurs in The Sun, a rather disturbing experience to be on the receiving end of an attack in the most widely read newspaper in the country.

Those days are happily gone. But there are now deep divisions within the LGBT communities. It can no longer be called a single community, if ever it was. There were times when lesbians were excluded from gay bars and clubs because they were women. Today Pride is far from a welcoming environment for those who question the behaviour and attitudes of some trans rights activists who aim anything but so-called ‘trans-love’ at lesbians, feminists and others who argue for and defend women-only spaces.

Originally Pride had a focus on same-sex attraction and relationships which were being vilified and needed to be defended.  Once again, same sex relationships are under attack by people who subscribe to gender ideology and who say that sex-based rights are no longer important or relevant. 

There are other events, such as Trans Pride, that allows the promotion and celebration of trans rights. I am not calling for an end to Trans Pride, but to Pride itself which has become toxic.  Let’s not pretend that Pride remains one big, happy family.