• Greens vote to keep their councillor cycle mileage payments and bus pass perks rather than top up council climate assembly action fund
• Greens are failing to make the necessary efforts and personal sacrifices to tackle climate change, say Conservatives

Conservative Group Leader Steve Bell said that Brighton & Hove City Council’s Green Administration had prioritised their own perks over fighting climate change following a key Budget meeting last week.

At last Thursday’s Policy and Resources Committee meeting the Greens combined with Labour to vote down a Conservative motion to top up the climate assembly action capital fund by ending the Councillor cycle mileage and bus pass perk – a measure that would have saved £0.010m of savings and been used to generate an additional £130,000 for climate action in Brighton & Hove.

The debate on this amendment, which was moved by Conservative Finance Spokesperson Joe Miller, can be viewed on the webcast from 02:06:00 onwards.

Conservative Group Leader Steve Bell said that the Greens had got their priorities wrong and were failing to make the necessary efforts and personal sacrifices to tackle climate change.

The Greens are asking residents of this City to make sacrifices to tackle climate change but are not willing to make those sacrifices themselves.

“Greens talk about Climate change, but when they have a chance to make a difference and add more money to tackle the climate emergency, they chose to put their perks first, climate change second.

“In a similar vein they have asked residents to swallow a 4.99% council tax hike, when fiscal responsibility over the past year should have seen a delivery of a zero council tax increase, but because of ideological policies which has cost the City £16 million, we are left with this increase. They have failed the City and its residents” he said.

Conservative Finance Spokesperson Joe Miller said that the Greens’ actions were hypocrisy of the highest order.

“Councillors would still pay to use the bus and the impact of reducing emissions for our city would have been much larger if Greens and Labour supported our amendment and the climate assembly which they purport to support so fiercely” he said.

“After wasting £16 million of taxpayers’ money in the past year, the Greens have a responsibility to work harder to find savings.  This includes looking at themselves and their own perks” he added.

The Full text of the Conservative Group amendment, voted down by the Greens and Labour at the Policy & Resources Committee meeting on 11 February 2021, is attached below: