Councillors representing Brighton’s Labour Party have held the local Green Party leadership to account over their rude and dismissive attitude towards their concerns over the future of a controversial cycle lane.
In a letter written by Councillor Gary Wilkinson, the party claims that during the discussions, Green Party representatives aimed inappropriate remarks and personal attacks at Labour Party members during the meeting of the environment, transport, and sustainability committee in July.
Within the document, the councillor remarked at the unacceptable treatment of his colleagues and that they called for an apology.
Various claims made included the unapproved taking and distribution of photographs that were then used to misrepresent some of the attendees, accusing the members of the Labour Party of having no integrity and that the Green Party showed behaviour which was both shocking and inappropriate.
As a result of their actions, abuse and slander has been aimed at the Labour Party councillors since the event, following the public posts that have provided an impetus for social media to attack the party.
The majority of the scrutiny is aimed at Green councillor Amy Heley, whose attitude and demeanour was described as “rude and dismissive”, with this behaviour aimed at the opposition and also members of the public, in such a way that councillor Wilkinson stated that he had never before seen a chair conduct themselves in that manner before.
The critics of the chair grew following her outspoken criticism of Labour’s apparently hypocritical stance on the removal of the Old Shoreham Road cycle lane and their “shameful” opposition to the initial application of the lane in a meeting the previous month.
The call is now for a more mature and appropriate representation of politics.
The meeting itself was involving the now scrapped cycle lane as the Labour and Conservative parties voted for its removal, with Labour and Green officials having heated debate.
In response to the letter, the Green Party notes disappointment at Cllr Wilkinson’s decision to publish a letter rather than to use the council’s dispute process.
Photo Credit: Hansjorg Keller
