Street of shame

When it comes to government cuts, Brighton & Hove is by far the worst-hit council in the south-east of England and one of the most affected in the country.

So says data analysis by the Guardian, whose experts showed that while all other councils in the south-east are being cut by less than £50 per head of population, Brighton and Hove faces more than £105, above southern cities such as Portsmouth or Southampton and far more than neighbouring authorities in Kent and Sussex.

At a time when low income people and families are facing iniquitous measures such the ‘bedroom tax’ and the 1% freeze in benefits, Brighton & Hove City Council has fewer resources to help them and less to spend on its vital services across the city.

Greens at the gates of Downing Street

Before Christmas, Jason Kitcat, leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, wrote to Eric Pickles, the Conservative Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government, appealing against the cuts to Brighton and Hove, which he said was “singled out” for austerity. And in early December, Caroline Lucas and Jason Kitcat, together with other councillors, marched up Downing Street to hand a letter of objection into No 11 Downing Street.

And over the last two months, Brighton & Hove Greens have been on the streets of our city, collecting many hundreds of signatures to present to the Westminster government, calling for an end to this attack.

This petition is now here and we invite everyone who still wishes to sign to add their names above, and to tweet it out using the #cutspetition hashtag