Vulnerable Brighton families protected from council austerity
February is a dark month for many in England and Wales. Not only do we still have weeks left until the clocks spring forward but it’s also the month that most councils set their annual budget and we find out just how much austerity, or rather suffering, they’ll be forcing on us for another year. At a time when many councils are going bust due to central government policy and woeful mismanagement by our elected officials, people around the country were expecting the worst.
Step in Brighton City Council. In their draft budget for 2025/26 the council suggested saving £750k (less than 0.1% of their overall budget for the year) by moving families in temporary accommodation out of the city - away from their hometown, their friends and their families. Temporary accommodation is a scandal with the government itself estimating that some 151,630 children currently live in such situations. Brighton City Council proposed to deal with the issue by simply sweeping it under the rug and pocketing the cash. Our members took exception to that.
Ten members of ACORN Brighton marched down to City Hall and demanded a meeting with Council Leader Bella Sankey. ACORN Brighton branch chair, Keziah Hall has herself lived in temporary accommodation and we think it behoves politicians to look into the eyes of the people their policies impact. Predictably, Sankey refused the meeting.
However, thanks to continued pressure, Sankey relented and invited us to a formal meeting where our members got her to commit to not forcing anyone out of the city and to meet with us on a quarterly basis to discuss other concerns we have. Another win in the bag for ACORN and for working class people everywhere.