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Vote for Independence on May 4 2023

We love living in Brighton and Hove. But it’s clear that Our City is in trouble.

Things have got to change. And they can…

The May 2023 Local Elections are coming – and the Brighton & Hove Independents are ready.

Our goal is to improve the running of Brighton & Hove through the election of candidates
with the life and work experiences needed to manage Our City.

Unshackled from national party politics, independent councillors will work together –
and with any party councillor willing to join forces - to put Our City First.

We are Independents because we are not part of the traditional political parties –
and are offering a genuine alternative.

Our goal is to improve the running of Brighton & Hove through the election of candidates
with the life and work experiences needed to manage our city.

Led By Locals; Putting People Before Politics;
The Change Our City Needs

May 2023 Elections – Time for Change

The next elections in Brighton & Hove will be held in May 2023 when 54 people
will be voted-in as Councillors by the 290,000 of us who live here.

For the past 11 years Brighton & Hove has been run by the Greens or Labour
with ineffective, unconstructive Conservative opposition.

We all know how the system works: these people put the needs of their political parties first -
and those of the City and its resident second.

What’s more, many of these people are poorly qualified for the job:
they simply do what their parties tell them to.

They have failed so many people in so many different ways. So many bad decisions
guided by Party ideology. So many avoidable and self-made disasters.

Brighton & Hove Independents is a group of local people who are passionate about our city.
We offer an alternative to traditional political parties.

Our goal is to get local people elected in May 2023 who truly care about our city; who have
meaningful and relevant life and work experience; and who will always put the
needs of the people of Brighton & Hove before any political party.

We are The Change Your City Needs.

Led By Locals; Putting People Before Politics;
The Change Our City Needs

Led by Locals

May 2023 Elections – Time for Change

We have lived and worked in Brighton & Hove for decades.

In our careers, we have successful track records of getting things done -
and want to use this experience and know-how to make the
right decisions for Brighton & Hove.

We are open-minded, honest, impartial, experienced, transparent,
practical, pragmatic and solution-oriented.

We are not aligned with dogmatic, ideologically driven national political parties.

We are The Change Our City Needs.

Led By Locals; Putting People Before Politics;
The Change Our City Needs

LED BY LOCALS

Our Candidates

Bridget Fishleigh

Standing again in Rottingdean & Saltdean ward

Elected in 2019 as Brighton & Hove’s Only Elected Independent Councillor

Lives: West Saltdean since 2005. Centre of Brighton 2000-2005

Day job: International Business Consultant. Spent six years saving Saltdean Lido and raising £3 million to restore the pool. Former Chair of Saltdean Residents Association

Since being elected, Bridget has raised money for and led local regeneration projects; set up and run a food bank; organised regular repair cafes; helped hundreds of people object to unsuitable planning applications, navigate the benefits system, secure housing, got potholes filled, pavements weeded - and so much more.

On a City level, Bridget received cross-party support for the introduction of a real-time air quality monitoring system and new measures to protect trees with Tree Preservation Orders.

Alan Towler

Standing in Kemptown ward

Day job: For the past 11 years Alan has been co-owner and chef at the much-loved Bristol Bar in Kemptown. He is a member of the Madeira Terraces Advisory Panel.

“Like many people I have been frustrated with how long the council has taken to get a grip on the Madeira Terraces situation. Too many meetings, too many consultants and too little action. It’s no surprise that the city is in a state given the inability of the current crop of councillors to make a decision. I am ready to stand-up for the city that I love. It's time for change”.

Gary Farmer

Standing in Regency ward

Day job: MD of a successful city centre language school, founder of the Old Steine Community Association.

Lives: Old Steine. Born and raised in Brighton. Lived and worked abroad before returning.

“Growing up and living in Brighton, I’ve watched the city decline as successive administrations have abandoned common sense, accountability, and responsibility often putting party loyalties ahead of the needs of our beloved city. Now is the time for change.”

Over the past three years, Bridget has shown that independent councillors make a real difference in the area they represent putting the needs of residents first. From running a food bank, to leading on regeneration projects, to planting trees, to securing improvements to local infrastructure, Bridget leads by example.

Brighton & Hove desperately needs more independent councillors like Bridget who focus on community issues and local matters, who honestly connect with our neighbourhoods, residents and businesses, who represent our city and the people for the right reasons.”

Dr Mark Earthey

Standing in Rottingdean (Ovingdean) & Saltdean alongside Brighton & Hove’s only elected independent Councillor, Bridget Fishleigh.

Day job: Dr Earthey is a consultant who specialises in sustainable energy. He has advised companies, Governments and national regulators on creating strategies for renewables, sustainability, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and fighting energy poverty.

Dr Earthey has recently been appointed to the the Bank of England Decision Makers Panel which makes a significant contribution to policymaking in the UK briefing ministers from departments such as HM Treasury, and the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy. His main contribution will be to sustainable energy policy.

He is already working with a number of local groups, energy co-operatives, and neighbouring town councils to create community energy schemes based on renewables. Earthey is also a member of both the Saltdean and Rottingdean Climate Action Networks, and the A259 Action Group, having suffered at first hand the limitations of the local transport network.

Dr Earthey said “The city of Brighton faces real challenges, both local and global, that cannot be addressed by a single-track, dogmatic ideology. Now is the time to take a diverse approach to policy-making based on evidence and fact.

“Having lived in the city since 1991, I can bring 30 years of experience in both the private and public sectors advising large corporations and community energy schemes. I want to use this expertise on behalf of all City residents who deserve better than they have received to date.”

Paul Denyer

Standing in Patcham and Hollingbury ward

Day job: Owns business in the city for years which he is in the process of selling. This will allow Paul to dedicate his time to serving the people of Patcham and Hollingbury.

Lives: Carden Hill, Hollingbury. Born and raised in Brighton. Went to Hertford Road Primary and Dorothy Stringer.

Paul said "As a well-known local business owner, and life-long Brightonian, I feel wholeheartedly that the incumbent administration and their predecessors have consistently let the people of Our City down.

Like so many others, I've become disheartened by the decline of Brighton & Hove's infrastructure, and I am truly passionate about working to improve services and restore Brighton and Hove's unique heritage for the people who live here.

It is imperative that national politics is separated from our local politics. Our City desperately needs change and I have the skills, expertise, time and energy to help”.

Bev Barstow

Standing in Hanover and Elm Grove ward

Day job: Painter and decorator. Former lawyer

Lives: Just off Elm Grove for 29 years. Part of the stop the LTN Neighbourhood local pressure group. Involved in local issues and projects for years. Campaigned for chevron parking on verges of Elm Grove with Elm Grove Residents Action Group (EGRAG).

Bev says “The prospect of a Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) in Hanover and Tarner is still alive. My election as a Brighton & Hove Independent would send a message that we don’t want this - as well as giving residents a strong voice on other local issues.

There are many issues in Hanover and Elm Grove that both Green and Labour councillors have done very little about for decades. Any funding for an LTN should be spent on addressing these instead.

We have seen Elm Grove fall into decline without capital investment to build proper legal parking bays into the tarmac verges for residents to park, despite three petitions to the council requesting this. Instead we have parking bays on the road narrowing it to the point where traffic can no longer pass safely and without driving on the opposite side of the road. We have seen broken and tatty pavements ignored, weeds abound, and bin issues. It’s not good enough and the people of Hanover and Elm Grove deserve better.

By properly focusing on the needs of local residents and community issues, rather than old fashioned party politics, I would aim to bring a refreshing non-partisan alternative to local politics. I will ensure that decisions made are the best for our community, rather than party political ideology, rhetoric and dogma”.

Linda Elisha

Standing in Goldsmid ward

Day job: Founder, MD and general dogsbody for a small tech company operating globally from its Hove base. Has a a long association with the Brighton based charity Possability People where she was a volunteer advocate and am now a Trustee.

Lives: Old Shoreham Road opposite Hove Recreation Ground.

Linda says “I moved my business and family here from London in 1996, and love this City. But something is wrong in paradise… and we need to fix it. Residents deserve to be heard and our opinions should carry significant weight when it comes to designing our City. True, the Council has a tough job managing its budget, but is it really operating in the best interests of its residents, or is party-lead ideology driving its spending policies? I fervently support the residents right to choose our City’s priorities; the concept of Brighton and Hove Independents is a great one – a banner for all of us disinterested in party-politics but passionate about improving life in our City to rally around. Bridget has truly led by example, a Councillor who serves their ward with all the community effort that entails, I think we need more of that!”

Chris Woodley

Standing in Brunswick & Adelaide ward

Day job: Chris has owned the flower stand on Palmeira Square for 25+ years. He has always been a prominent and proud member of the local community and is a lifelong supporter of The Albion.

Lives: Second Avenue

Chris says: “I live and work in Brunswick & Adelaide and voted Green in the last local election. They promised so much but have delivered so little for residents. From recycling, potholes in the roads, footpaths overgrown with weeds, they have failed, failed and failed again to get a grip with the rudimentary tasks of running Our City. They are responsible for the financial disaster which is the i360 and I’ve had enough of their mad schemes. My business acumen, and common sense, would help bring sanity back to Hove Town Hall”.

Adrian Hart

Standing in Queens Park ward

Day job: Community Filmmaker. Trustee of the Brighton Society. Part of Amex Area Neighbourhood Action Forum which, after a battle with the council in 2019, secured the lease to what is now the thriving White Street Community Garden on Edward Street.

Lives: Queens Park for 20 years.

Adrian says: "At the last local elections, you could pin a green or a red rosette on a complete stranger and they'd win. They might be unknown to residents, live elsewhere, say absolutely nothing other than the talking points their party gives them and it wouldn't matter. But there's a new mood today - disaffection with the way the parties run this city is at an all time low. Independent councillors make sense to people".

Brighton & Hove could lead the way in becoming a city where its people take over the running of their neighbourhoods. A new era of independent councillors derived from civic life and community and business enterprise would breath oxygen back into local democracy. Independents can embody a diversity of fresh thinking – all the better to enact and maintain the things voters want”.

Get Involved

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GET INVOLVED

Now we are looking for more people with the skills our city needs to get back on track - and who are ready to stand up for the place that we all love.

The more independents that get elected, the more likely we are to achieve change.

Whether you are interested in standing for election or volunteering to work on the campaign behind the scenes, please get in touch.

Donate

We need funds to pay for our campaign (posters, leaflets etc).

The main political parties are funded by big business, trade unions and national pressure groups.

We will be funded by the people of Brighton & Hove who share our passion for the city – and despair at what is happening to it.

Please email us at bhindependents@gmail.com if you are able to help.

The population of our city is around 290,000 with about 204,000 registered to vote.

However, in 2019 only 42.45% of the 204,000 actually voted. That’s around 89,000 people.

It’s obvious why: they saw no viable alternatives to the traditional political dogfight.

But it’s easy to register to vote for us. And easy to register for a postal vote - so you don’t even have to leave the house.

To register please visit:

https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/voting-and-elections/register-vote

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We’d love to hear your thoughts about our City and the services provided by Brighton & Hove City Council. Please click here to fill out our survey.

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Vote for Independence on May 4 2023

May 2023 Elections – Time for Change

May 2023 Elections – Time for Change

LED BY LOCALS

Our Candidates

GET INVOLVED

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