Southampton Redbridge Labour Councillor Lee Whitbread Suspended - A Fake "Independent"

 

Labour Councillor Lee Whitbread
Photo: Southampton City Council

Southampton Redbridge Labour Councillor Lee Whitbread has been suspended from the Labour Group of councillors, according to Jason Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter for the Daily Echo.

Co-Founder of Southampton Independents Andrew Pope says:

"The Council website says he is 'Independent'! They are just following their procedures, but Lee Whitbread is nothing of the sort.

We disown Lee Whitbread in no uncertain terms.  

Lee Whitbread is not an independent, but a Labour councillor under investigation.

He is nothing to do with us, nor with any reputable independent elected representative. Lee Whitbread is a wrong'un.

Perhaps now Labour do not want him to be their candidate again, Whitbread could join the so-called "Independent Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition" who are also abusing the name of "independent" in the Shirley by-election. TUSC are also nothing to do with us or the Independent Network. They are Trotskyists and never achieve anything for Southampton.

I always had my suspicions about Lee Whitbread. He has sided with the wrong people, be they Labour councillors or others, including during the 2018 election when our candidate Denise Wyatt almost beat Labour.

We still have the evidence of what he did with those bad people and we considered challenging the result in the Election Court, but we did not have the money if we had lost. Labour clung on to power by one seat, employing desperate measures including siding with those who broke  electoral law. We reported to the Police, who did not act to protect democracy or electoral law. They did not seem to know how to.

Thankfully in contrast to the Police, the Returning Officer trusted our evidence and patrolled polling stations when people threatened to intimidate voters outside them on polling day. Again, we have the evidence and the RO is respected.

I raised this in the Council Chamber after the 2018 local election, and likened the behaviour of some in Redbridge to the rotten borough of London Tower Hamlets, not Southampton.

Southampton could have been so different if they had not employed such desperate measures to keep power.

At the election count in 2016, Whitbread also made derogatory comments towards me and our genuine independent Redbridge candidate Denise Wyatt. He appeared to be affected by our presence at the count and Denise's excellent performance for a first time candidate, and we considered complaining to the Returning Officer. In hindsight, perhaps we should have done.

Having had to suffer him as a "colleague" when in Labour, despite my goodwill towards him at first, I have a wealth of bad experience of Whitbread.

But Councillor Simon Letts backed him despite the allegations I made about Whitbread when I was in the Labour Party. I gave the evidence to Southampton Labour Party officials, but they let Whitbread off.

Now is the time for Labour to ditch him, because the people of Redbridge deserve better than him. And they deserve better than the three Labour councillors - Whitbread, Goodfellow and McManus. They all need to go.

The people of Redbridge, Millbrook and Maybush deserve true Independent Network and Southampton Independents representation again, like they had with me from 2015-2019, and almost had with Denise Wyatt.

If you would like to stand against Whitbread in May, indeed against Labour in Redbridge in May if Whitbread is actually not to be their candidate, get in touch. It's time we brought Redbridge back to democracy, and indeed the whole of Southampton by electing talented independents onto the Council."

 

Andrew Pope

 

Shocking Attitude of Southampton Labour Housing Bosses Towards Council Tenants

 

Labour Cabinet Member for Housing Cllr Andy Frampton
Photo: Southampton City Council

Southampton Independents stands up for residents. We stand up for Council tenants and leaseholders.

Since 2017, we have consistently held the Labour-run Council to account, and also for the year that the Tories had control of the Council. Labour or Tory, same old story, residents said to us. Because Labour is no better than the Tories. 

Co-Founder of Southampton Independents Andrew Pope continues to hold the Council to account. When he got hold of a Council Internal Audit report, he asked questions of the Council's Labour Housing boss Councillor Andy Frampton. As reported previously, Failing Frampton did not reply.

So Andrew asked again, and also asked about fire safety concerns of residents of Shirley Towers and Milner Court, which is two council blocks for older people next door.

Here is the full reply from Frampton, when offered to reply for a SECOND time:

"No, I didn't miss your email. I don't reply to other political groups who will only use answers and explanations as a way to twist the truth and information to their own narrative. Please direct any resident who has any concerns about fire safety or problems with damp & mould to the appropriate department who will help." 

Andrew Pope says:

Andrew Pope on BBC TV
Photo: Southampton Independents

 

"Residents, tenants and leaseholders have had to come to me to help them, because the Council itself has not addressed their concerns and worries over heating, fire safety, damp and mould and more. They feel ignored, so I am trying to help them.

Councillor Frampton was due to meet with tenants representatives meeting on Monday. I attended it at Shirley Towers. He was not there. Why? So I have raised their concerns directly with officers, who were helpful.

Tenants and officers of the Council deserve better than Southampton Labour. I will continue to stand up for them.  

I have written to local media to ask them to help holding Councillor Frampton and the Labour-run Council to account. That is how democracy in Southampton is supposed to operate. 

The big political parties let everyone down. They do not deserve any power in our City."

   

FIRE SAFETY CAMPAIGN: Since 2017, We Have Protected Southampton's Residents

 

Daily Echo Front Page After Redbridge Towers Fire
Photo: Southampton Independents

Southampton Independents listens to residents and acts with residents, because we are residents too.

Since the Redbridge Towers fire in 2017, we have protected residents with our fire safety campaign.

At this link is a video of Councillor Andrew Pope, who was our Redbridge ward councillor. He appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live, showing fire safety breaches in Council tower blocks in International Way in Weston, Southampton.

 

This was in 2018, six months after the Grenfell disaster in London. A full transcript of the video is below:

Andrew Pope
Southampton Independents Councillor
on Southampton City Council

Councillor Andrew Pope on BBC
Photo: Southampton Independents

"We're now at Rotterdam Towers and immediately on coming here we've seen some fire safety issues with the fire doors at the entrance to the building. 

This is a fire door here and the next door we come across is another fire door, this just stays three or four inches open.

And, the next one we come to is another fire door and that's also three or four inches open, as well. Not functioning as a fire door.

And we've been to the top floor and we've seen fire doors there and on other floors that aren't closing properly. We've even seen a fire door where the handle is half hanging off. 

So it's quite disgraceful what we've seen.

We haven't had to look very hard, and we've already seen huge numbers of failures of fire safety within Rotterdam Towers."

Dr Stephen Battersby
Environmental Health Expert:

"It's absolutely amazing to think that after Grenfell Tower, six months after Grenfell Tower, that these conditions still exist and nobody has clearly looked at fire risks in this building and remedied the problems that increase the fire risk.

It means that their safety is at risk.

Any responsible landlord would certainly have ensured that fire doors fit properly, and work as fire doors.

Those fire doors don't fulfill their basic function.

And one doesn't have to be an expert in either fire safety or the housing health and safety rating system, to see that these are problems that ought to be, ought to have been remedied immediately."

Southampton City Council "say they are undertaking an extensive programme of improvements to all their tower blocks... including the installation of sprinklers and the inspection of fire doors."

INVESTIGATION: Andrew Pope Discovers Fire Safety Breaches at Shirley Towers Scene of 2010 Fatal Fire

 

Andrew Pope at a Very Wet Shirley Towers
Photo: Southampton Independents

UPDATE (20/2/26): A fire "drill" appears to have been carried out at Shirley Towers. Andrew Pope says:

"I will keep up the pressure on the Council to protect residents and leaseholders. I should not have to use the media to pressure the Council, but I have had to again.

I acted to protect people in 2017 with my campaign for sprinklers in all Council tower blocks and I continue to act to protect.

It is terrible that Labour's Councillor Andy Frampton refused to act when I asked him to. Thankfully, there are some good officers of the Council who care and the Fire Service care too. Labour have to go."

--- 

Following up on his previous campaigning on fire safety in Council tower blocks, Andrew Pope has been investigating the concerns of Shirley Towers residents.

What he has found is very disturbing, considering that he campaigned for sprinklers to be installed in all twenty Council tower blocks. 

Two firefighters - Alan Bannon and James Shears - died in a fatal fire at Shirley Towers in 2010. A memorial plaque was unveiled in 2023. 

Andrew says: 

"The Labour Councillor and Cabinet Member for Housing Andy Frampton is trying to avoid accountability for ongoing fire safety breaches. It is unacceptable that he refused to answer residents' concerns when I contacted him directly.

As in 2018, when I brought BBC Radio 5 Live to Southampton, fire doors are compromised and not fixed in a timely manner. When I reported it to officers, they asked if it had been reported.

It is the responsibility of the Council to regularly inspect and fix.

And now, I have learned from multiple residents that some sprinklers are not working and have not been since December, after a fire in the bin area.

I have not seen any media report of that fire, so I am bringing it to the media's attention.

Residents are worried, so I am trying to get action and answers.

It has been difficult to even reach the right people to get action taken or get reassurance.

I will not stand by and let residents be put at risk again."

 

Compromised fire door in Shirley Towers
Photo: Southampton Independents

Andrew's campaign for sprinklers in all Council tower blocks began before the Grenfell disaster in 2017, and after the Redbridge Towers fire when he was Independent Redbridge ward councillor.

As documented on the Southampton Independents website, his campaign encountered stiff resistance from Councillor Warwick Payne of the Labour-run Council who said that residents did not want sprinklers and

here on Youtube you can hear Payne claim that he did not have the money to do what Andrew was asking him to do for residents.

 

Our campaign led by Andrew Pope forced the Council to do it for all 20 Council tower blocks. Left to the Tories or other big political parties, it would not have happened. 

 

INVESTIGATION: 2 of 3 Partners in Park and Ride Partnership Blame Southampton City Council for Being "Not Good Enough"

When given the right of reply, both Bluestar bus company and University Hospitals Southampton, have passed the buck to Southampton City Council for the failings of the Park and Ride service. 

Andrew Pope wrote to all three partners in the Park and Ride, offering a Right of Reply to his criticisms following his very long campaign to deliver a Park and Ride for Southampton.

Corporate Affairs at University Hospitals Southampton (UHS) has written to Andrew Pope:

"With regards to the Park & Ride:

The Park & Ride operates for the use of UHS staff from Monday to Friday. Southampton City Council promotes the use of the service at weekends for the public so we would direct you to the Council for any questions you have about that."

The General Manager of Bluestar replied:

"We operate the P&R under contract to the city council.  A such, it is the council that have designed and procured the service and pay for it.

You will need to speak to the council for the finer details, but I understand they have an agreement with the hospital to use their car park at weekends.

It is of course a trial, so perhaps more permanent signage will come if it becomes a permanent park and ride.  I have seen various adverts around the city and online for the service, and I also heard a radio advert for it recently too."

Andrew, who is a member of the Independent Network, says:

 

Andrew Pope
Photo: Southampton Independents

"I campaigned for over a decade for a Park and Ride here in Southampton, and we now have one for hospital staff during Monday to Friday. 

I repeatedly pressured the Council, bus companies and hospital for aspirations in strategy documents to be turned into reality.

Over the weekend we have the PR1 service for the public to the City Centre and on Saints home games, PR2 for football fans to St Mary's Stadium.

I am pleased to have initiated this campaign when I chaired the Council's Inquiry into hospital transport. But it was a long and hard fight, which ended after I spoke up about the Park and Ride at the Planning Meeting in 2025 where I spoke up for residents who live near the hospital.

So I was disappointed to see that it was not good enough. And I gave the right of reply to all three partners to my criticisms, in the spirit of partnership and to try to improve it.

So I am now further disappointed to get buck-passing and blaming of the Council. 

That is not in the spirit of partnership. I want these partners to work together to deliver what is needed to keep cars out of Southampton and reduce traffic, not to blame each other.

It echoes the previous disasters of the Capita contract that was scrapped in 2018 the Tory councillors wanted to keep it - and the Balfour Beatty road contract which I would like to scrap but Labour and Tory councils have continued to carry on, despite its many failings and constant complaints from residents, which I totally agree with."

Independent Network emblem

 

Andrew Pope investigated the new Park and Ride that he had campaigned on for many years. He published his findings on the Southampton Independents website, and wrote a letter to the Daily Echo, saying that what has been done is "not good enough", which was published.

Andrew also wrote to the three "partners" in the "partnership" for the Park and Ride:

1. Bluestar bus company
2. University Hospitals Southampton, which runs Southampton General Hospital
3. Southampton City Council's Cabinet Member for Transport, Labour Councillor Christie Lambert

Bluestar responded very quickly, claiming that the Park and Ride was a "trial". This was not clear in the Council's communications about the service.

Councillor Christie Lambert took two months to reply, and provided a rather feeble response, failing to answer the many points that Andrew had pointed out. She then quit as Cabinet Member for Transport.

The UHS Chief Executive Officer David French did not provide a reponse, neither did the officer understood to be his PA. Andrew had previously corresponded with Mr French over the Park and Ride.

HOSPITAL MAJOR INCIDENT FIRE: SGH Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer Fail To Answer Urgent Questions on Fire Safety

 

Paul Grundy Chief Medical Officer UHS NHS Foundation Trust
Photo: UHS

UPDATE: A response from Corporate Affairs has now been received, but it is not very helpful and no response to each individual and direct question has been received from either the CEO or CMO, nor Corporate Affairs. 

Please sign Andrew Pope's petition for sprinklers here. 

Andrew Pope says:

"When I contact people directly that I have been in touch with before, including David French about Park and Ride, I expect a direct response from them directly.

And not a feeble response from PR people trying to gaslight patients, staff, local residents and firefighters. I will be going back and asking for a direct response - and not for the first time.

Despite the non-response, it seems that Mr Grundy is now away. So others have been asked to respond in his stead.

I have sympathy that they have been dealing with a Major Incident, but this is somewhat self-inflicted when insufficient fire safety was in place before the Major Incident. The cost of the Major Incident could have been much reduced with better fire safety in place.

I heard similar excuses that these PR people at the Hospital have given now, as compared with the Labour-run Southampton City Council 8 years ago when I put them under pressure after the Redbridge Towers fire. And the Tory Leader of Kensington Council at Grenfell.

The PR response totally justifies the petition that I have created, because the Hospital seem to think it is acceptable to not do it because they are not required to by law or regulation.

Local people think otherwise - the petition has received good response in its first week, both online and offline. Please sign it, if you have not already, and share it."

--- 

Co-Founder of Southampton Independents Andrew Pope has been asking questions of the senior executives of the Trust Board at the Southampton General Hospital (SGH), also known as University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. Andrew's follow-up letter to the CEO David French and Chief Medical Officer Paul Grundy, is below:

Dear David and Paul,

Please answer urgently the questions that were sent to you before, and followed up on 2nd February. I have repeated them below.

I asked Joe Campbell, via Emily Hudson of the BBC, to ask about sprinklers and the response on the BBC South Today Monday before last seemed to be that patients might get wet, equipment might get wet and the building(s) are old. 

 

Where did those rather flippant and unhelpful answers come from please? PR people or from the Trust Board?

1. Were there sprinklers where the fire broke out? The BBC broadcast to say there were not. Please provide more information.

2. If there were sprinklers, did they contain the fire? No, see 1.

3. If there were sprinklers, why didn't they put the fire out? No, see 1 and 2.

4. Will the hospital review fire safety in this building and across the hospital estate, and install sprinklers? If so, where, by when?

5. If there were electrical, medical or other reasons why sprinklers were not appropriate for that location, please provide those.

I have asked to speak at the next Trust Board, but have not received any response. And the same at the Council of Governors."

 

On sending the follow-up letter, an auto-reply email suggested that Mr Grundy is on significant leave. To be clear, the CEO was also asked and no reply was received.

 

The letter also mentions Andrew Pope's credentials on the topic, and record in Southampton on campaigning on fire safety. 

 

Andrew Pope chaired the Southampton City Council Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee when he led an inquiry into hospital transport, the report of which mentioned a Park and Ride as well as other recommendations that Andrew followed up on. He also wrote his Masters degree thesis on "How Democratic Are NHS Foundation Trusts?" where he interviewed 60 people on their views on the topic. 

 

Andrew also led the campaign for sprinklers to be installed in all Southampton City Council tower blocks, months before the Grenfell Tower disaster in London and after the fatal Shirley Towers fire in 2010 and the near-miss Redbridge Towers fire in 2017, where thankfully nobody died. As documented elsewhere on this website, both Southampton Labour and Kensington and Chelsea Conservatives claimed that residents did not want sprinklers. Labour or Tory, same old story, residents said.

 

In 2018, six months after Grenfell, Andrew brought BBC Radio 5 Live's investigative journalist Adrian Goldberg to Southampton, showing Adrian major fire safety failures in Council tower blocks. These failings were described as "disgraceful" by fire safety expert Dr Stephen Battersby in the radio programme. A short video is here on the BBC website. 

 

As reported by the BBC in 2017, after the Grenfell disaster, "Sprinklers would have saved tower".

"A fire safety expert previously contracted to work on Grenfell Tower has said sprinklers would have stopped the fatal fire from spreading.

Paul Atkins said sprinklers give people a "99% chance of survival" and would have stopped flames taking hold."

Sprinklers are not mandatory in all hospitals and care homes in England. So as with his successful campaigns in and around Southampton, Andrew Pope has started a petition. You can sign it here.

 

 

Redbridge Towers Fire in 2017
Photo: Southampton Independents

Andrew Pope quoted in Daily Echo Redbridge Towers 2017
Photo: Southampton Independents

Front page Daily Echo after Redbridge Towers Fire 2017
Photo: Southampton Independents

 

 

Our Emblem

Andrew Pope when Southampton Independents Councillor for Redbridge
Photo: Southampton Independents

 

 

Sign Andrew Pope's Petition For Sprinklers at the SGH and Make Them Mandatory In All Hospitals and Care Homes in England

 

Southampton General Hospital
Photo: Southampton Independents

You can go straight to the petition at the link here.

You can find out more about the petition here. 

People died at Grenfell Tower because there were no sprinklers. Kensington Council didn't bother. Firefighters died at Shirley Towers in 2010. Sprinklers would have saved lives and property, because they are proven. Don't let it happen again. Please sign the petition. 

Or you can read more about Andrew Pope's leadership on fire safety over nearly ten years in Southampton on this website by using the site search facility and searching for 'fire safety', or clicking the links below:

• here 
•   here 
•     and here. 

And if you are in the Shirley ward, please Vote Andrew Pope Independent Network. 

 

Independent Network Emblem

Andrew Pope Letter Daily Echo on By-Election
Photo: Southampton Independents

 

Fourteen Years of Failure - Southampton Labour Housing Councillor Failing Frampton Refuses To Fix Council Tenants' Concerns

 

Failing Southampton Labour Housing Boss Andy Frampton
Photo: Southampton City Council

Councillor Andy Frampton admits fourteeen years of failure (minus one year of Tory failure*) by Labour on Southampton City Council housing. Last month, launching yet another "strategy" document after those before that failed Council tenants, he said:

'Sadly, too many in our city still fall short of the standard residents rightly expect.' 

On Sunday 1st February 2026, the day of the fire at the Southampton General Hospital (University Hospitals Southampton), Shirley campaigner Andrew Pope sent concerns of Shirley Towers residents over fire safety to the Labour Cabinet Member for Housing at the Council, Councillor Andy Frampton.

Tenants were unhappy that housing officers had failed to address their concerns over many issues:

• fire safety, including in Shirley Towers where firefighters died in 2010
• damp and mould across Southampton Council flats and houses
• energy equipment installed by the Council being faulty
• community rooms in council blocks being closed and 
• bed bugs.

So they approached Andrew Pope, who took up their concerns. 

Cllr Frampton flatly refused to answer their concerns, and we have his refusal in writing. It is unacceptable.

Shirley Towers residents told us, when we told them about Frampton's refusal, that he deserves to lose his Council seat. According to the Council website, his seat is up for election in May 2026. If you would like to stand against him, please get in touch with us. 

Andrew Pope says:

Daily Echo in 2017 Andrew Pope Quoted on Fire Safety at Redbridge Towers
Photo: Southampton Independents

 

"I had already tried to get Andy Frampton to address the serious damp and mould problems, but he did not respond.  

Tenants had already tried to get these problems addressed by Council officers, who supposedly answer to the failing Frampton. He should help but he refused.

It is no wonder that tenants find that too many of their problems are either ignored or not addressed properly by Labour-run Southampton City Council.

When even the housing boss fails to address the concerns, Council officers may think they can follow his lead of inaction, incompetence and failure.

Frampton himself has admitted in public his failings and the failings of the Labour-run Council. 

At a meeting in January 2026, after FOURTEEN years of failure after Labour took control of the Council, Frampton said:

'Sadly, too many in our city still fall short of the standard residents rightly expect.'

Labour has been in power in the Council since 2012. 

I resigned from Labour in 2015 and became an Independent councillor because I did not want to be part of a Labour Party that failed Redbridge, Maybush and Millbrook constituents. Labour has run them down and run Southampton down.

Being an independent means I work with residents without any political party between me and those I represent.

That's why I am standing to be a Councillor again. 

If elected, I will have some powers to compel officers to address tenants' concerns. 

And some of those officers may remember that I am not like Andy Frampton - I make sure officers do their jobs and serve tenants. I will be meeting with officers soon to keep up the pressure."

* The Conservatives took control of the Council for just one year between 2012-2026. Labour or Tory, same old story - it's still fourteen years of failure since 2012. And when the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were in UK Government, they slashed Council funding and made it more difficult for councils to raise their own funding. Southampton Labour's former Council Leader Satvir Kaur MP said that she did not understand Council finances, and brought the Council to its knees. Labour, Lib Dem or Tory, same old story.

 

Andrew Douglas Pope on BBC South Today

 

Andrew Douglas Pope

HOSPITAL FIRE: BBC CONFIRMS NO SPRINKLERS IN MAJOR INCIDENT FIRE IN WEST WING

West Wing Southampton General Hospital
Photo: Southampton Independents

 

Redbridge Towers Fire in 2017 with no sprinklers

"Were there sprinklers at yesterday's major incident fire at Southampton General Hospital? I am asking the hospital Chief Executive and Chief Medical Officers this and other questions. I have also contacted the Fire Protection Association, who are experts on sprinklers."

says prominent fire safety campaigner Andrew Pope, who is standing as the Independent Network candidate in the 26th February 2026 Shirley by-election.

Sign Andrew Pope's petition here to demand that sprinklers are installed, and made mandatory for all hospitals and care homes.

Joe Campbell on BBC South Today 2nd February 2026 confirmed that sprinklers were NOT installed. It appears that the hospital's attempt at explaining why, is that the West Wing is "old" and that sprinklers might get expensive equipment wet and patients wet. We are asking more questions, and asking the Daily Echo and BBC to ask more for patients and local residents.

The ITV News report is here. 

What do you think of the hospital's "explanation" of no sprinklers? 

Andrew says:  

"I noticed in the BBC's original report that sprinklers were not mentioned. So I raised sprinklers with the BBC's Emily Hudson and true to her word, she raised this with the reporter Joe Campbell. I will be thanking Emily and Joe for getting an answer. More answers are needed now though, once the immediate chaos caused by the fire has receded."

Why have Southampton Independents campaigned for sprinklers, ever since the first year we started in 2017?

Because sprinklers save lives. Sprinklers save property. They are, in the words of Nick Ross CBE in the video by the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA), "phenomenally successful". 

If you have any doubts about sprinklers, please watch the BAFSA video above. 

Sprinkler Saves reports: "Southampton City Council demonstrated its commitment to fire safety by agreeing, in June 2017, to fund the retrofitting of residential sprinklers within its twenty high-rise buildings as part of a phased programme, in response to the Grenfell Tower fire."  

We began our campaign earlier in 2017 after the Redbridge Towers fire, the Labour-run Council's Cabinet Member for Housing Warwick Payne said that residents did not want sprinklers and that the Council did not have the money. We made them commit to doing it and find the money. 

Please see a selection of reports of the below incidents where our campaign has saved lives and property, and the City Council and taxpayers money, and protected firefighters from tackling a worse incident, in Southampton:

• 13th August 2025, Irving Road, Southampton: HFRS incident reports: "high-rise sprinkler system in Southampton played a key role in containing a kitchen fire, protecting residents, and enabling firefighters to bring the incident under control". 
• 23rd March 2025, Redbridge Towers, Southampton: HFRS incident reports: "It is further reassuring to know that had this fire occurred inside one of the flats and not the sterile communal area, that the building is fitted with firefighting sprinklers. These would have contained the fire prior to our arrival but also protected the residents and assisted in their escape."
• 20th April 2021, Millbrook Towers, Southampton:  HFRS incident reports: "The sprinklers in Millbrook Towers did exactly what these systems are designed to do. By confining the fire to one room, the potential for this being a much more significant incident was averted."

This is just some of the incidents in tower blocks. Southampton City Council issued this update in 2024, with all 20 tower blocks having sprinklers installed, saying: 

"Since the sprinklers have been installed we have had five flat fires in our high-rise blocks. All of these have been suppressed by the sprinkler systems before the fire service arrived." 

Southampton Independents has continued its pressure, checking up on the Council's work. 

On the day of the fire at the Hospital, Andrew Pope sent concerns of Shirley Towers residents over fire safety to the Labour Cabinet Member for Housing at the Council, Councillor Andy Frampton. He flatly refused to answer their concerns, in writing. Shirley Towers residents told us, when we told them this, that he deserves to lose his Council seat. According to the Council website, his seat is up for election in May 2026. If you would like to stand against him, please get in touch with us.

Our campaign worked. Contrast the above safety improvements after our campaign with the incidents at Redbridge Towers in 2017, Shirley Towers in 2010 and Albion Towers in 2017. Sprinklers were not installed then. Both Labour and Tory-run Councils failed to do it, until we started our campaign.

It is now time for the Hospital to do the same, and for Labour to be held to account for its failings on the Council.

 

Andrew Pope, Fire Safety Campaigner

 

CAMPAIGN UPDATE: A Sad and Controversial Goodbye To The Derelict Bridge Tavern Pub on Coxford Road

 

Andrew Pope Outside The Derelict Bridge Tavern Pub on Coxford Road

Shirley ward campaigner Andrew Pope has had confirmation from the Agent of the site developer that the development of the former Bridge Tavern is proceeding. Andrew says:

"I've had a response from the Agent today. I've told him of my disappointment that their proposal was approved by the big party councillors on the Council planning committee, but I have thanked him for his quick response to my questions.

There will be a delay but it may be "May" at the earliest before the pub is demolished. The Council and developer are having trouble agreeing the commitments that the developer must follow. And bats and other wildlife are inside the derelict pub.

I remain concerned on behalf of residents (and local bats, birds and other wildlife) of the impact of the development. I will keep a watching brief.

It's sad to see a pub be demolished but there was no way that I could save this pub. 

I have saved others in the New Forest, including the Anchor Inn at Eling and the Fleur de Lys at Pilley. I was standing for Parliament in New Forest East. Around that time, I also joined with campaigners to protect The Bittern pub at Bitterne from becoming a McDonald's.

Not all pubs can be saved though and not all pubs are wanted to be saved by local residents. The Bridge Tavern is obviously another that could not survive. I've met people who did enjoy the pub many years ago, including on Sunday when I was canvassing nearby, so the pub served its purpose and local residents for a long time. 

The Bush Inn on Maybush Road could not be saved, when I was councillor for Redbridge ward nearby. I asked local residents and they did not want the Bush Inn to be saved. 

At the time I was reported in the Echo saying that I was disappointed to lose another pub, but being an elected representative is not about what I want, it's about what local residents want. I listen to them and act on their views."  

Since 2024, co-founder of Southampton Independents Andrew Pope has listened to and stood up with residents of the Coxford / Maybush area (it depends on who you ask :) ) who live near to the derelict pub on Coxford Road.

The derelict pub is close to the Southampton General Hospital and is affected by hospital staff parking there, as is a very wide area going all the way from Romsey Road to Hill Lane, north and south of Winchester Road and in Shirley Warren. Andrew has confirmed this from listening to many residents of this area.

The latest proposal for the derelict pub was to develop the site, but the proposals were deeply flawed, residents told him. They did not understand why the Council had not rejected the planning application, because it did not improve on previous applications that had been refused.

Andrew added his voice to the objections to the planning application. He organised and ran a petition that local residents signed, and submitted this to the Council.

Andrew spoke up for residents at the July 2025 Planning meeting. What is not mentioned in the Echo report is that incredibly, Andrew observed the now ex-councillor Liberal Democrat George Percival, actually support the application, and shake the hands of the developer's representative at the Planning meeting. It turns out that Percival was committing a flagrant conflict of interest by mixing his occupation with his role as a councillor.

Andrew had previously asked the planning officer that the decision was made in public, so that planning officers could not make the decision bureaucratically and without public scrutiny. He also objected to the application and asked councillors to refuse it. 

The councillors were all from the big political parties: Labour, Tories, Liberal Democrats.

They approved the application despite the huge local objections that it should be refused and residents' views listened to. Southampton resident and supporter of Southampton Independents Felix, who attended the meeting with Andrew, said:

"This was the first planning meeting that I had ever been to. It seemed like the big party's councillors did not listen to Andrew or the residents who spoke at the meeting. They seemed to have made up their mind before the meeting.

But they did listen when Andrew demanded that the Park and Ride now be delivered, and not just be in strategy documents for even longer than the 12 years that Andrew has fought for it." 

Months passed. Nothing seemed to be happening, so Andrew wrote to the Agent of the developer for an update, who has confirmed today that the site will be developed from May at the earliest, due to delays in the legal agreements with the Council's planning officers, and further bat surveys. 

Bats are protected by law and are probably roosting in the derelict pub until May at the latest, "when the hibernation period for bats ends.", according to the Agent.

Andrew may not have stopped the proposal, but since 2024 he has worked hard to represent local residents, and he has had a victory on his 12-year Park and Ride campaign which has already reduced hospital parking and traffic. More details on that victory and his continuing campaign to make the Park and Ride be better, and hold the bus company, hospital and Labour-run Council to account, are on this website:

• here
•   here
•     and here.