Letter to Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion
Below is a letter I sent (early on Friday, August 2), as a constituent of Caroline Lucas MP in Brighton Pavilion, about a meeting I am organising with one of her fellow parliamentarians at a venue in our constituency.
Peter Kyle, the MP in a neighbouring constituency, is trying to stifle democratic debate about a democratic, socialist economy. This will not be allowed to happen.
Please come along to the Holiday Inn Brighton — Seafront at 7pm on Thursday, August 8. Register here: http://bit.ly/32PsPVF
Dear Caroline,
I am organising a public meeting in Brighton Pavilion constituency with Chris Williamson, one of your parliamentary colleagues, the socialist MP for Derby North. He will be speaking at 7pm on Thursday, August 8, about the desperate need for a democratic, socialist economy.
Nearly 200 citizens in Brighton and Hove have registered to attend.
Unfortunately, after the shocking intervention of Peter Kyle, the Labour MP in the neighbouring constituency of Hove, the original venue — the Brighthelm Centre in North Road — summarily cancelled my booking, without any right of appeal. The only grounds it quoted, without explanation, were those mentioned in Section K of its hire agreement:
“Brighthelm reserves the right to stop or close any event without notice or compensation should it breach any UK Law, endanger or cause offence to other centre users or members of the staff or public.”
Happily, I have been able to find another, larger venue — thanks to the help of a high-profile city-centre hotel, also in Brighton Pavilion constituency. You will understand my anxiety about naming the new venue.
I am sure, however, you will agree that freedom of speech in our city (and beyond) is the lifeblood of democratic debate.
As I prepare to make public the new venue, I hope you are able to offer support for the principle that the meeting should go ahead without any further intervention by Mr Kyle or anyone else.
In the hope that all leading democratically-elected representatives can agree freedom of speech is a precious commodity, I am copying-in the two other MPs in Brighton and Hove, as well as Nancy Platts, the leader of Brighton and Hove City Council.
I look forward to any response(s).
Yours sincerely,
Greg Hadfield
