Working together for a fairer, more equal, democratic and sustainable Sussex
Brighton and Hove Compass Activities
We re-launched Brighton and Hove Compass in July 2020 to build back better in the city. See Launch Statement
Our launch was supported by an Evening Argus column on cross-party working. See The Argus article.
In December 2020, we met with our supporters met to discuss local priorities for action. People wanted to see action on cross-party working and progressive alliances, Green New Deal, positive health activities, supporting local trading, jobs, training and economic development post-Covid and post-Brexit, and bringing forward positive stories of action in Brighton and Hove.
In 2022 we expanded our Steering Group that agreed a strategy to support the development of other Compass groups in Sussex in the lead up to the next general election. And started to campaign for progressives to work together to demolish the Sussex Blue Wall.
We are also campaigning for Proportional Representation. Our stall at last August's Brunswick Festival collected several hundred signatures to a petition to Parliament.
And in November we ran a street stall in Hove's George Street where enthusiastic passers-by signed postcards to Peter Kyle, Hove's MP, asking him to support PR. Steering group members delivered 180 cards to Peter at his local office in Hove on 24 November'
Progressive Politics Coffee Mornings
.... Where we informally discuss local and national issues. Our Coffee Mornings are open to all. We pride ourselves on providing great coffee and excellent biscuits with informed conversation between progressives and great invited speakers. We aim to develop a broad agenda of concerns and proposals that all the progressive political parties can share.
Our most recent was in December 2023 when we reviewed the year's political news with Ivor Gaber and swapped our usual coffee for mulled wine.
In September, we discussed with experts, Charles Secrett and Cathy Shutt what kind of Green New Deal we would like a progressive government to implement (see report here).
"To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing”.
Is the blue wall really collapsing or just a bit chipped?
Over 50 Compass members and supporters gathered for our coffee morning on in July 2023 to hear the reflections of Emily Robinson, Politics Department at Sussex University, and Neal Lawson, Director of Compass, on walls, blue and red, and recent events in the Labour Party which have left Neal threatened with expulsion.
See here for full report
There's No Place Like Home
In May Kelvin McDonald, and Andy Winter, provided a trenchant analysis of local housing strategies (see here for full report of the meeting
Winning as One In Sussex
In March the newly formed Compass group in Lewes joined us to discuss how to get rid of the Tories in those Sussex constituencies where the incumbent MPs were chosen in the last General Election by a minority of voters. Full Report Here
Getting PR Done !
On the 14 January, 2023, Compass supporters packed tight into the Cornerstone’s loft room to hear Jess Garland from the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) and Lena Swedlow from Compass HQW conclude that proportional representation delivers grown up politics and is urgently needed to tackle the long-term and complex problems that affect the United Kingdom. Full report here
Working Together Then and Now
An open, collegiate and honest discussion about the challenges around collaboration and competition between the Greens and Labour in recent general elections in Brighton. See our Working Together Then and Now report
Early Years
2021
Cross-Party Working in Lewes and Brighton
On 16 March 2021, around 40 people attended our online event to explore cross-party working in Lewes and Brighton.
See our Cross party working report.
2020
Input to Brighton and Hove Climate Assembly
Our formal input to the recent Citizens’ Assembly in Brighton and Hove on Climate Change was accepted. As we proposed, the Assembly’s final report (published in December 2020) included a recommendation for a new focus on participatory working involving local citizens and communities. See our Submission to the Climate Assembly and the final report of the Brighton and Hove Climate Assembly.
2016/15
We hosted a Brighton Fringe festival event on 7 May 2016: Brighton Rocks! Power Sucks? Creating a new dem
Our first event was held on 25 July 2015, in the lead up to the 2017 general election: Plan B: Shaping Progressive Policies in the face of Austerity. This cross-party event was addressed by Caroline Lucas MP (Green Party), Nancy Platts (Labour Party), Neal Lawson (national Compass) and Professor Luke Martell (University of Sussex). Notes of the Plan B event.