News from Hastings Independents
NEWS FROM HASTINGS INDEPENDENTS
A huge thank you to all those who have been in touch since the New Year to wish us luck, support our aims and offer help.
This has meant an awful lot to the 8 of us who decided in December to leave the Labour Party and form a new political movement, one that puts honesty, co-operation and Hastings first!
It was wonderful to see so many of you at the launch event last week, the energy and vision that filled the room will sustain us through the cold weeks of canvassing ahead. Thank you Mike Willis for the generous use of your space.
We started door knocking in Hollington yesterday, and both the idea of Hastings Independents, and the trusted track record of Maya Evans, had overwhelming support on the doorstep.
Our commitment to open and honest debate is at the heart of this journey, and we start a series of public assemblies next Saturday (February 10th) when we host a discussion about tacking homelessness in Hastings. 10-12am at His Place Church, entrance on Robertson Street next to the computer shop. Free and open to all, please come and tell your friends too.
We are delighted to have agreed to form a new Cabinet running Hastings Borough Council until the May elections with the Green Party. The Cabinet consists of Julia Hilton and Glenn Haffenden (Green Party) who will be Leader and Deputy Leader, and three Hastings Independent councillors, Simon Willis (leading on Housing), Ali Roark (leading on the Foreshore Trust) and me, leading on Finance and Property.
This was agreed by the last Full Council meeting, so immediately giving a legitimacy to our new party which now, within a month of being formed, has a majority in the Cabinet.
We will continue this style of co-operation with others whenever we consider this in the best interests of Hastings, unlike both Labour and Conservatives who were offered places in the Cabinet but refused to join this new approach.
As well as our series of debates over the next few weeks, we will organise to stand at the local elections in May. Of the 8 of us who formed Hastings Independents, only Maya Evans and Ali Roark are at the end of their term as elected councillors. Maya will be standing in her current ward Hollington, and Ali has decided not to stand again due to family commitments. So we need more candidates! Some of you have already said you are considering standing, and we now need you to confirm your interest so we can decide which wards we will target (we don’t yet have the resources to stand everywhere).
Please write to me by Friday 16th February if you are interested and I will get in touch to discuss in more detail what is involved.
We have terrific momentum behind Hastings Independents and so now is the time to think, how can I play a fuller role in this new politics?
Look forward to hearing from you!
Paul
Leader, Hastings Independents
hastingsindependents@gmail.com
P.S. Some of you have generously offered to help with donations so that we can campaign more effectively between now and May.
To do this, please use BACS and our current account
Cooperative Bank,
Account name: Cultural Change
Sort code: 08-92-99
Account: 69647336
HASTINGS INDEPENDENTS ARE: COUNCILLORS PAUL BARNETT, ANDY BATSFORD, JOHN CANNAN, MAYA EVANS, ALI ROARK, NIGEL SINDEN,
MIKE TURNER and SIMON WILLIS
Come along to our next get together THIS Saturday 10am
‘His Place’ Community Art Cafe
45 Robertson Street, TN34 1HL
We want to hear your ideas regarding everything Hastings, from housing & homelessness to regeneration and climate change - we are guided by your visions and ideas.
Hastings Independents Principles
The Hastings Independents movement is being built here in Hastings, and is focused on what we can do to make our part of the world a better place to live and work. We are open to working with everyone who lives and/or works in Hastings and St Leonards as we look to address some of the key issues affecting our town.
We believe that everyone deserves:
· To live in a safe, warm, home.
· A secure job that pays a living wage.
· A proper social safety net that provides support when needed.
· Respect and tolerance.
· To live free from violence, harassment or intimidation.
· Access to quality education or training.
· Opportunities for cultural, sports and leisure pursuits.
We believe that politics is broken and that the existing political parties do not go far enough to support everyone in our society. We believe that there are many people in our town who do not fit within the confines of a particular political party, but who have the skills, time, vision and enthusiasm needed to be great local representatives. We want to promote equality and fairness and to engage in participatory democracy within our vibrant local communities and believe that Hastings Borough Council is better off run by the best people for the job – not just people willing to jump through the hoops of political parties and controlled by regional or national political agendas.
Our guiding principles are:
We believe that safe and secure housing is a basic human right and are committed to promoting the building or purchase of quality housing stock for social rent. We will also seek to address the pressures on affordable rents from second-home ownership and AirBnB properties.
We believe that children have the right to grow up in safe environments, with access to quality education and with opportunities for play. We also believe that it is our collective responsibility to safeguard our children’s and grandchildren’s future by tackling the climate emergency.
We believe that addressing the climate emergency should be placed front and centre in local decision making and that progress in this area
needs to be rapid and town-wide and across the public and private sectors. We also recognise the need for public buy-in and the hurdle that is a lack of meaningful central government direction and investment in this area. We therefore support local actions and activism aimed at raising awareness and gaining support for change.
We support unions and other forms of organised labour and are committed to fair treatment and pay for all of Hastings Borough Council’s employees.
We will challenge Southern Water at every opportunity to improve their service and stop pollution of our beaches and rivers. We believe that essential services should be run for the public good and not for private profit and support the principle of re-nationalising key services and infrastructure.
We understand the importance of sport and culture for health and wellbeing and will seek to direct investment towards our parks, playgrounds, recreation, sports, and cultural facilities.
We recognise that our town is made up of different neighbourhoods many with their own rich histories. We are devoted to investing in the redevelopment of the town from the centre to the edge – working towards a greener, more sustainable and more beautiful place to live for all residents.
We believe that Hastings has a magical spirit and a uniqueness of place. Our town has a culture of tolerance, diversity and joyous celebration; a tradition of live music and festivals; a vibrant seafront and unique heritage. We will seek to preserve and enhance the things that make our town special as well as build the profile of Hastings and St Leonards as great places to visit.
We believe that the economic growth of Hastings is a good thing and that we can work towards making sure that everyone in the town has the opportunity to benefit from this – particularly our most vulnerable and economically disadvantaged residents.
We know that businesses are the key to a future of good jobs, thriving tourism and a vibrant local economy. We support the development of a culture in which businesses treat employees fairly and engage in ethical business practices in our town.
We believe that we all have a stake in the future of society and the scapegoating of vulnerable groups is unacceptable.
We are committed to supporting the White Ribbon Campaign and its message of prevention of violence against women and girls.
We believe in tolerance, equity and justice. We have zero tolerance for actions or words suggesting discrimination or disrespect for anyone on grounds of their sex or gender, sexuality, colour, race, religion
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