THE paralysis at the heart of Brighton and Hove City Council is bad for business.

Let’s put to one side colourful metaphors involving exotic fruit, and focus on the fact that the Green-led administration has lost its bearing and is in danger of doing real damage to the city’s prospects.

The Green party is riven by in-fighting and has a fatal attraction for gesture politics. It may seem more glamorous to make your point by climbing up a tree or blocking a road, but, in the end, it is the quotidian business of council committees which enacts real change.

From the parking charges fiasco to the encouragement of street demonstrations, the administration has shown a blithe disregard for the concerns of business owners.

The seafront strategy is, like the fabled snark, much sought-after but never seen.

The list of stalled projects could be strung along the Old Steine like a row of festive decorations which have lost their lustre.

It is no credit to the two main opposition parties at the council that stasis is the order of the day in Norton Road.

We are blessed in this city with imaginative entrepreneurs and a truly talented and educated workforce.

Their hands are tied by a Council that relies too often on over-cautious advice from officers.

To quote Bob Dylan – an artist who is no doubt a favourite with many Green councillors – please get out of the way if you can’t lend a hand.