32 out of 54 Labour candidates for the upcoming Brighton & Hove Local Elections this May are also members of the Co-operative Party.

The Co-op Party promote a number of initiatives, such as Fairtrade and Ethical Trading initiatives, Supporters Trusts for football clubs, Ethical Banking and Credit Unions, Animal Welfare, Mutual Home Ownership, Community Transport Co-ops and Carbon Neutral Communities.

Brighton & Hove’s Labour & Co-op Party candidates will be standing in East Brighton, Hollingdean & Stanmer, Goldsmid, Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Wish and Woodingdean wards.

The Co-op party have an electoral agreement with Labour, which enables candidates to stand as combined Labour and Co-operative representatives in General, European and Local elections. The Co-op Party is currently the second largest centre-left party in the UK, with representation in the Houses of Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh and London Assemblies, as well as over 350 local councillors.

Brighton & Hove Labour Leader & Co-op Party Member, Gill Mitchell, said:

“I am proud to be standing as a Labour and Co-operative Candidate at this upcoming local election. As well as standing on our Labour manifesto, my Co-op colleagues and I will be promoting the values of co-operation the principle that we do better for ourselves if we co-operate with each other rather than seeing ourselves as isolated individuals.

“For example, the last local Labour Council made Brighton & Hove a Fairtrade City and implemented a number of city strategies to reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change.

“This time round, we will be pushing to make Brighton & Hove a much fairer, sustainable and co-operative city. For example, we want to roll out a citywide financial inclusion strategy, working with partners such as credit unions, to fight poverty and support the city’s most vulnerable, with financial advice and debt support.”

For more information on the Co-operative Party, please visit: www.party.coop