Our services on the chopping block
Since 2010 Brighton & Hove council has reduced its spending on our local services by almost E250 million. This has meant the slashing of funding for education, social care, transport and more, as well the closure of schools, youth clubs, and libraries.
Many hoped that the defeat of the hated Tories in 2024 would bring an end to 14 years of austerity, but council cuts have continued apace. Brighton council estimates it will have a funding gap of over £20 million for 2026-27 - if that money is not provided by the Labour government then it will mean even more cuts to our services, further rises in council tax and council rents, and a continued brake on council house building.
An alternative approach
This cannot be allowed to continue.
Brighton & Hove Trades Council, bringing together representatives from different trade union branches across the city, has launched a campaign for a no-cuts 'People's Budget', demanding that the council takes a stand to bring an end to austerity.
If the current councillors were serious about representing our interests and opposing cuts - in deeds, not just in words - then they should begin by using the council's existing reserves and borrowing powers - £56 million as of March 2025 - to immediately halt all the cuts planned for this year and instead begin a programme of council house building, expanding funding for local services, and improving the pay and conditions of council workers.
The enthusiasm this would generate locally could be the basis to launch a
campaign of local trade unions,community campaigners, youth organisations and more to demand that Starmer returns the money that has been stolen from
Brighton over 15 years. There is no shortage of money in society when private energy and water companies continue to make billions in profit every year at our expense.
Working class fightback needed
Between 2023-24 thousands of workers in Brighton alone took action as part of the huge strike wave that swept the country. The lesson from those strikes is that if you fight, you can win! Mobilising the community again to protest and strike in defiance of continued austerity could force the government to cough up the funding needed. A local campaign has already delayed the closure of Rottingdean library by 12 months, giving a small glimpse of what is possible.
We need anti-cuts councillors who are willing to take a stand and fight for this strategy to be adopted. At a People's Budget meeting hosted by the Trades Council it was agreed to support the lobby called by Brighton & Hove Unison (see details overleaf) to oppose the cuts and to demand that local councillors fight for an alternative no-cuts budget instead.
If you want to oppose the council's austerity plans, please join us on the lobby.
