One of Brighton's first openly gay local councillors has joined the Green

Party from Labour. Nimrod Ping' 46' an architect and a former Labour councillor for the city centre Regency Ward in the 1990s has crossed over to the Greens following disillusionment with his old party. Nimrod has been a strong campaigner for LGBT equality and was 'out 'about his sexuality as a councillor at a time when such openness in politics was rare.

On his decision to join the Greens' Nimrod said: "When Labour won national power in 1997' we were expecting change - but things have gone the wrong way. They are too right-wing and have an absolute disregard for people's opinions. The Greens are working to sort out problems rather than create more and I agree with almost everything they say."

He added: "It's good to see the Labour Government eventually getting round to introduce proper legal partnerships for LGBT people' but this has been Green Party Policy for ages' along with a host of other good p