Time and again, Conservative-run councils such as Wealden deliver much better outcomes for residents than ideologically-driven alternatives, such as the Greens and Labour in Brighton and Hove.
Conservative councils put residents’ services first and foremost. The recycling rate in 'Green Party-led' Brighton and Hove is among the worst in the country and half that of neighbouring Conservative West Sussex, for example.
RECYCLING
Official recycling figures from Defra for 2021/22 show that in Brighton managed a pathetic 30.1% while Conservative-run Wealden achieved 48.9%, the highest anywhere in East Sussex. LibDem-run Eastbourne managed just 38.9% with the Green/LibDem-run coalition in Lewes District a miserable 41% which is lower than when they took over from the last Conservative administration there four years ago. In Labour-run Hastings, the figure is a paltry 31.2%. Shocking!
WEEDS
Brighton and Hove City Council banned the use of weedkiller in the City in 2019 without putting any credible alternative plan in place. The decision back then was made by Labour Councillors, supported by the Greens, after both these parties were lobbied by an activist group, The Pesticide Action Network.
The result of Brighton’s ban has been very well-publicised in the national (and even international) media. We have had two summers’ worth of weeds getting out of control, pavements blocked with trip hazards, and pet injuries from the shards of seeds.
This year just three people were employed to weed the 560 miles of pavements across Brighton. An impossible task. This has left the Council scrambling to find private contractors that are willing to manually weed the city’s pavement, at increased cost to the taxpayer.
In failing to meet its statutory duty to keep the pavements clear of weeds, the Council has exposed itself to greater liability from people tripping on the pavements. Written questions have revealed that the Council has had to pay out damages in a number of cases. The long-term liability from cracked-up pavements has yet to be calculated but will be substantial.
DIY, RESIDENTS TOLD
Brighton and Hove City Council’s knee-jerk ban was poorly-thought through and has cost the city and its residents dearly. Brighton is now behind the eight-ball, having failed in its statutory duties and is now out of options, other than asking residents to weed their own pavements, which it has now done.
Meanwhile, Lib Dem Independent Rother District set a net-zero target without properly auditing its own carbon emissions, and lost its environment communications officer who left accusing the council of greenwashing.
It seems that virtue signalling and ideology are not adequate substitutes for evidence-based practical policies. Who could have predicted that?
