Our Principles

  • 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 a 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