Turning Green: new councillor says it’s time to have some political fun
“It just becomes so hard, like swimming through concrete, that you can’t engage with people. Activists want to believe in something and enjoy it. That's so important in bringing the community together."
Brett Wright, elected as a Liberal Democrat county councillor for Meads in Eastbourne, has switched to the Green Party. He tells the Eastbourne Reporter of his disillusionment with how some political parties are run – and of his hope for a positive future as he declares his intention to seek re-election.
By Rebecca Maer
As a biomedical scientist, Brett Wright spent much of his career discussing ideas and asking questions.
But he has found that, within local politics, a similar environment in which to debate ideas with an enquiring mind has been elusive.
That frustration led the retired scientist to join the Green Party earlier this month. He says he was prompted by a disagreement over the voting system for mayoral elections and uncertainty about his future as a Lib Dem candidate.
He was welcomed to the party in Eastbourne by Rachel Millward, co-leader of Wealden district council and a deputy leader of the Green party in England and Wales, who said it was “the future of progressive politics”.
Cllr Wright told the Eastbourne Reporter that he believed what he called the “legacy” political parties – Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats – are run from the top down.
“I think that is a problem with all these legacy parties. They're looking for campaigners and people to deliver leaflets,” he said.
“For me, being in a political party is about the discussion of ideas and policy. The Greens on the (county) council seem passionate and active – it's about positive politics.”
The current political make-up of East Sussex County Council is: 22 Conservative, 11 Liberal Democrat, six Green including Brett Wright, five Labour, and two each of Independent Democrat, Reform UK and Independent.
The council is run by a Conservative minority administration as no party is in overall control out of 50 members.
Cllr Wright said he had considered continuing to work for residents then standing down at the next election. However, the Greens suggested he could join them.
He has listened to national Green leader Zack Polanski on his podcast Bold Politics. “I like his honesty and how he asks questions: he seems open to change,” said Cllr Wright.
He also said he particularly liked a comment Rachel Millward made when he joined. She said: “That’s great – we can have a lot of fun”.
Cllr Wright said it made him reflect. “It just becomes so hard, like swimming through concrete, that you can’t engage with people. Activists want to believe in something and enjoy it. That's so important in bringing the community together.
“If you have lost that, you have decided change is not possible and there is a spiralling down.”
He now intends to stand in the elections in May for the Greens in Meads. “It’s an opportunity for the Greens to re-form in Eastbourne. It will be a good learning experience for everybody – there are a lot of young people involved.
“It would be a win if we got the Green vote up significantly in Meads: I have a good reputation as a councillor there.”
The Greens came third out of five candidates and secured 6.1% of the vote in Meads at the 2021 county council elections. The Conservatives won the seat and held it until a by-election in August 2023 following the death of long-standing Conservative councillor Barry Taylor.
Brett Wright won the by-election for the Liberal Democrats, beating the Conservatives into second place in what has traditionally been a solid Tory area. The Greens came bottom of the poll of four candidates with a 3.9% share of the vote.
He has come under pressure from other parties, including his former colleagues in the Liberal Democrats, to stand down and fight a by-election in Meads.
Cllr David Tutt, leader of the county council’s Lib Dem group, told the BBC-funded Local Democracy Reporting Service earlier this month: “[Cllr Wright] was elected to East Sussex County Council as a Liberal Democrat councillor by the people of Meads, shortly after Meads elected their first ever Liberal Democrat councillor to Eastbourne Borough Council.
“Residents and Liberal Democrat activists will understandably feel very let down by Cllr Wright’s defection.
“Whilst I am disappointed he has chosen to join the Green Party, given that just 3.9 per cent of people voted Green at the last council election in Meads, I would ask him to consider allowing the residents of Meads to decide who best represents them.”
And Cllr Robert Smart, leader of the Conservative opposition on Eastbourne Borough Council, said: “The honourable course of action is clear. Councillor Wright should resign and fight a by-election under his new colours.
"This is the third resignation from the Eastbourne Liberal Democrats in less than a year, revealing a party more preoccupied with political infighting than the priorities of Eastbourne residents.”
But since those statements, it has been announced that county council elections will go ahead in early May.
Just ten days after Cllr Wright joined the Greens on 6 February, the Government abandoned plans to delay local elections following a legal challenge by Reform UK.
Local Government Secretary Steve Reed had approved delays to voting until 2027, arguing some councils were concerned about the cost of elections for authorities due to be abolished under local government reorganisation.
East Sussex County Council will now be one of 30 councils in England undergoing reorganisation to go the polls on Thursday 7 May.
Cllr Wright intends to continue to highlight some of the main concerns he believes affect Meads residents. These include highways and traffic through the historic area on the western edge of Eastbourne.
He said he recently arranged a meeting with the head of highways to point out the problems with deep potholes in the area. And he says that uneven pavements in Lower Carlisle Road were redone due to his persistence.
But the creation of a two-lane bridge at Exceat in the Seven Sisters Country Park may attract more traffic to the A259, some of which may go down into Meads.
Cllr Wright is keen to press for 20mph limits and low traffic neighbourhoods in the area to ensure the roads are safe.
So his work will be cut out in the relatively short run-up to elections in May.
He says of the Greens: “It’s nice to work with people who are energetic and positive, who are open to new ideas.
“It’s about innovation and how to do things better and differently.”
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