Gscene News Archive

No Tory councillors on the city council have signed the petition questioning how much public money was spent fighting two employment tribunals against Natasha Thoday, a transgender teacher who was supported in her tribunals against
Brighton & Hove Council by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.

All Green councillors except Cllr Keith Taylor (who is recovering from heart surgery) have signed the online petition, as have all Lib Dems councillors.

Des Turner MP for Brighton Kemp Town and former leader of the council and Labour candidate for Brighton Kemp Town, Simon Burgess have both signed as has Caroline Lucas, Green MEP and candidate for Brighton Pavilion.

The only sitting Labour councillor to sign the petition is Craig Turton. Asked why she had not signed the petition, Cllr Gill Mitchell, leader of the Labour group said:
“It is a matter for individual councillors as to whether they sign petitions. I personally have not signed as I am unclear about the legal reasoning as to why the council is withholding the information and whether those reasons are justified or not. If not then the council should publish the information.”

It has emerged that the new acting chief executive of Brighton Council, Alex Bailey, decided to fight Ms Thoday before any tribunal papers had been lodged.

In a letter to Cllr Paul Elgood, leader of the Lib Dems on the Council, released after a Freedom of Information application, Alex Bailey confirms the council decided to fight Natasha Thoday before she had lodged her tribunal case, and that under him, officers never intended to try to settle her case. Instead, Bailey accuses Ms Thoday of wanting “£90,000 plus” in settlement, saying that in his view “she would not have settled”.

Gscene has not been able to identify any negotiations between Ms Thoday and Brighton Council and Ms Thoday denies ever having entered any discussions about a financial settlement with the Council. In a letter to Ms Thoday, the district auditor has referred to Ms Thoday as wanting “too much money” to settle.

Under a Freedom of Information application, Gscene has asked the district auditor to produce any evidence of negotiations between Brighton Council and Ms Thoday about any financial settlements in this case. The district auditor has promised to respond within twenty days.

Despite being the only council in the country to be identified as a discriminatory employer by the Times Educational Supplement last year, Brighton Council moved from eighth place to third in the Stonewall gay-friendly employers index last month.

Stonewall does not campaign for the rights of transgender people in England but does in Scotland.

To sign the petition go to:
www.gopetition.com/petitions/freedom-ofinformation-
brighton-hove-council/signatures-page1.html