Its a simple enough question, with a lead Green Councillor: Matt Kent leaving the Green Party fold to become an independent.  We have to ask why he felt the need to leave after being committed to the green cause.  What would so put him off, what would divide the Greens.  In Lewes they seem to have a habit of losing councillors or people leaving.

Perhaps they will offer some transparency on these matters?

Matt has his own web site that seems to promote many of things Labour has been campaigning on in and around Malling, lets hope he continues to push our agenda.

http://mattdkent.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/lewes-town-cllr-matt-kent-becomes-independent/

LOLA – LEAVE OUR LOOS ALONE!

The draft budget from the Green Administration of Brighton and Hove City Council is proposing to close 9 public toilets and reducing the level of attendance at 6 others. The Labour Group has launched a campaign, LOLA (Leave our Loos Alone), with the support of Hilary Benn MP (Shadow Secretary for Communities and Local Government). Toilets are a basic public service and are essential for parents of young children, older people, and people with medical conditions such as crohns and colitis.

We are hoping to present a signed petition at a Council Meeting on Thursday 26th January, so please sign our e-petition http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/lola-leave-our-loos-alone.html, and show the Green Administration that Public Loos are there for a purpose and need to continue to be provided.

In addition we are also supporting a campaign by local busineses and traders against the over 100% increase in Business parking permit and trader costs. These rises will damage small businesses and be bad for the local economy. The petition can be found at on the Brighton & Hove Council website.

Can I urge you to sign both petition and pass it on to friends and neighbours.

With thanks for your support

Nigel Jenner
Campaigner, Brighton and Hove Labour Party

Website: http://brightonhovelabour.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeaveOurLoosAlone

 You may have heard the news that under this Tory-led Government, there has been a 17% increase in the number of families losing their homes.



These aren’t just dry statistics – they are real families facing homelessness. 



The Government must change course, stop cutting too far and too fast and come up with a Plan B for the economy – before more people lose their homes.



Help us send that message by signing the petition

Look out for us, the next community action is on Saturday 21st January and we will be meeting up at the Labour North Street Offices (LPHQ) from 9am

Anyone notice crime and disorder on the up in Lewes as the place gets tattier and the litter gets higher, I wondered at the link up and then found this info about the relationship…

In the 1980s, New York City’s crime rate was soaring. Total crime had more than doubled over the previous two decades; violent crimes tripled. It peaked in 1990 and then began a sudden, nationwide decline as the dismal economy began to show new life.

But New York’s economy did not follow the national trend. It remained flat. Yet crime plummeted to a third of its peak rate, surpassing the drop in the national average. New Yorkers say they feel the safest they have in years, and the city’s notorious subway system is no longer the fearsome dungeon it once was.

Exactly what they did differently is the subject of some debate. The authorities tried all sorts of things, but there is one measure that is widely credited for being the catalyst that made the other approaches effective: 

They cleaned stuff and fixed broken things, They scrubbed graffiti from the subway cars, collected litter from the sidewalks, and replaced damaged fixtures in public places.

And they kept them that way. Vandalized walls were repainted immediately. When they got tagged again, they were repainted again. The policy dictated that anything that was repaired or cleaned was to be kept in that condition no matter how many times they had to restore it. The epidemic of petty crime began to wane, and so did serious crime.

The approach was based on a theory by criminologists James Wilson and George Kelling. They argued that the disorder symbolized by graffiti, litter and minor crimes would inevitably lead to major crime and broken communities.

This phenomenon is easy to identify, and it applies to more than just crime. Anytime something goes from an immaculate state to a flawed one, it becomes exponentially more vulnerable to further degradation. This principle extends beyond physical things, to good habits, stable relationships, pleasant moods and positive attitudes.

It’s that first broken window that is so crucial to fix immediately, because the second and third happen much more easily.

Think of it in terms of your home…When the kitchen counter is spotless, even a preoccupied teenager is less likely to leave a dirty plate on it than he would be if it were already cluttered. It’s easy to toss clothes thoughtlessly onto the floor when the it’s already covered in clothes, but the same person would hesitate if the floor was clear.

As Lewes succumbs to the 100s of millions of pounds of County Council Cuts, what further effect will it have on not just its material make up but its social fabric, when things are mended or cleaned up we have less respect for them and the evidence shows crime sores, but we will have less police.

Labour have begun a series of community action initiatives, they are not new and we are not the first, but we do want to encourage and enable others, mostly they are just getting out to clean streets where local residents have told us there is a problem with litter.  Every time we have gone out local people have joined in.  Its our way of saying enough is enough.

Look out for us, the next community action is on Saturday 21st January and we will be meeting up at the Labour North Street Offices (LPHQ) from 9am

This is a really worrying time for families and businesses; struggling with higher food prices and gas bills and worried about their jobs and their children’s futures. 



The Tory-led Government are cutting too far and too fast and risk choking off economic recovery. Unemployment is rising again and is currently at the highest level in 17 years.  One in five young people are out of work and now more women are unemployed than at any time since 1988. 



We need to act now to show the Tory-led Government that there is another way.



Labour has set out a clear five-point plan for jobs, to help struggling families and support small businesses. Our jobs plan includes:

Tomorrow if you work in the Public sector, you may be on strike. Or, if you don’t work in the sector, you will know somebody close to you who has decided to take industrial action.

It would seem that this was the week that the Lib Dems revealed their true nature as "liberal" cover for right wing Tory policies.

 

Climate change is the greatest threat to the future of our planet and without action we will not be able to reverse its effects.

We have supported this tax for a long while, our candidate at the general election put his weight behind it, and it became an issue again at the G20 summit.

Over the course of the G20, a group of G20 countries from France to Brazil backed the Robin Hood Tax, under pressure from trade unions, development NGOs and climate change campaigners.

The link between the Robin Hood Tax and fighting poverty and climate change at home and abroad became clearer than ever. Momentum is building and leaders like David Cameron who opposed the tax have been left looking increasingly isolated.

This happened because millions of people like you, in campaign groups across the world, forced the Robin Hood Tax to the top of the political agenda, and sent their leaders to the G20, aware of the levels of concern at home.

But it doesn’t end here. Far from it. David Cameron remains one of the key blockers in the international process, so it’s vital we keep up the pressure on the UK government ahead of EU talks this week and UN climate talks in South Africa in December.

Trade unions around the world – from the USA to South Africa – are pushing their governments to support the Robin Hood Tax. Here in the UK, as the economy fails to pick up and cuts to public services continue to hit ordinary people, we need to keep the pressure on Cameron – the Robin Hood Tax is a key part of Plan B.

We are now part of a movement of millions. From church services in St. Paul’s to nurses on Wall Street, people everywhere are saying enough is enough. A Robin Hood Tax remains the best option on the table to start making the financial sector work for people, not just for profit.

Ideas this good don’t come along every day. And when they do, they’re too powerful to ignore.