Green gain in Hollingdean amid dismal night for Labour

Labour were pushed to third in Patcham and lost a councillor to the Greens in Brighton and Hove’s council by-elections.

In Hollingdean and Stanmer, expected to be a close race between the two parties, Labour lost to the Green candidate with a majority of over seven percent.

💚 Congratulations Zoë John, your fantastic new councillor for Hollingdean & Stanmer, elected today. #GreenWins pic.twitter.com/m93wNUxlQj

— Brighton & Hove Green Party (@BHGreens) May 7, 2021

Meanwhile in Patcham, Labour failed to get above 20 percent as the Conservatives held the seat with over 41 percent of the vote. However, the Greens came within 300 votes of taking the seat from Anne Meadows – a former Labour councillor who defected to the Tories in 2019.

We are of course disappointed with the by-election results, but are proud of the positive campaigns we ran in Hollingdean & Stanmer and Patcham. Well done @leila_erinj and Bruno De Oliveira, and thank you to all our volunteers who worked so hard.https://t.co/cdI1kKbSjs

— brightonhovelabourcllrs (@bhlabour) May 7, 2021

The results mirror a dismal night for Labour across the country, with the loss of councils such as Harlow, Sheffield, Plymouth and Rossendale, and a huge setback in Hartlepool with a Conservative victory with a majority of almost 7,000 votes.

Brighton’s results were also disappointing for the Liberal Democrats, falling to fifth in Hollingdean behind the TUSC with just 47 votes, and gaining just 3.6 percent in Patcham.

The results solidify the Greens’ position as the largest party on the council, with a total of 20 seats to Labour’s 17. The Conservatives are third with 13 seats, with four independent councillors.