Labour made misleading claims, says Green leader

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said Labour made "misleading" claims in May's local elections

The co-leader of the Green Party has accused Labour of running a "relentlessly negative campaign" and making "misleading" comments in Brighton and Hove during May's local elections.

Carla Denyer was speaking ahead of the Greens' autumn conference in the city.

In May, Labour took overall control of the council, with the Greens losing 13 seats.

Council leader Bella Sankey said the Greens should reflect on the "utter rejection" they received from voters.

"I think there was some very misleading messaging going around in that local election," said Ms Denyer.

"The Labour Party locally did run a relentlessly negative campaign where a lot of the things they said in their leaflets were actually pretty misleading.

"The local Green Party in Brighton and Hove is very much in listening mode, they want to know what it is that residents want."

Brighton and Hove's Labour leader Bella Sankey said her party ran a "positive and aspirational" campaign

Bella Sankey, leader of Brighton & Hove City Council said: “This is the Green Party slinging mud instead of reflecting on the utter rejection they faced by voters.

“The Labour Party ran an overwhelmingly positive and aspirational campaign in Brighton and Hove, focused on how we could clean up our city, provide more homes, and get the basics right again after years of Green failure.

"The results of the election speak for themselves, and Carla Denyer and the Greens would do well to listen to the voters rather than ignoring them.”

The Greens lost 13 seats in May's local elections

Ms Denyer also criticised Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who she said was being "irresponsible to pitch tackling climate change with tackling the cost of living crisis as enemies.

"The Green Party for years has been pushing for a nationwide home insulation programme, and that would bring down carbon emissions but would also bring down people's bills."

She said this would be paid for by a wealth tax, "a modest tax on just the very richest per cent or less than a per cent of the population, that has the potential to raise tens of billions of pounds."

In response, the government pointed to Mr Sunak's speech in September announcing his new approach to reaching net zero, in which he said he was "confident that we can adopt a more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach" to meeting that goal.

The Green Party autumn conference takes place in Brighton and Hove from Friday to Sunday.