I don't usually write or engage too much with local politics as I often find the name calling and point scoring extremely tiresome, something I imagine most people in our city agree with. 

I'm a natural Labour voter but what I have found particularly grating, as we head into the final weeks of campaigning for Brighton and Hove council elections, is Labour's approach to key issues in the city, most notably bins and recycling rates.

I'm not overly political but I do have extensive knowledge about the history of local recycling rates and contracts through my work. What I find frustrating is the way the local Labour Party and candidates approach this issue at every election as if they have had no role in the performance of the city's collection service and the myriad of reasons as to why it has underperformed for well over a decade. 

Labour like to attach the issues to the Green Party, who have managed the city in six years of the last 13 with Labour having been in administration for the rest. But history would say otherwise, Labour's role in the issue is more significant than any. 

Recycling rates remain low, no matter who runs the council, due to the 30-year PFI contract Labour signed the city into in 2003. Costing residents almost £1 billion, this contract has limited, and will continue to limit, what Brighton and Hove can recycle running up to 2033. Looking at the Twitter pages of my candidates, you would imagine that Labour didn't exist in 2003 the way they throw the blame at others (the only party to vote against the contract was the Greens, ironically).

They continually mention the i360 costing the city money but have never, to my knowledge, acknowledged or apologised for the disastrous role their colleagues played in this contract and the amount of money it has cost our city (not to mention reputational damage). I would like my Labour candidates to be honest about their party's role instead of blaming others on recycling rates. 

On missed refuse and recycling collections, Labour also act as though they have not been in administration in the last decade. They promised to "get the basics right" on bins in 2015 and I voted for them. They promised to fix kerbside collections in 2019 and I voted for them. Nothing improved at either election and we are still experiencing the same issues no matter who runs the council.

I'm not a Green voter but as far as I can tell they haven't played politics on this issue in the same way Labour have.

At every election Labour promises to sort out our bins. They win and then nothing happens. Perhaps there's more to this than one party can fix and I think it's time Labour, their candidates and councillors, levelled with us all. We don't need heroes with red roses riding in on horses to fix all our problems, we want people who care more about solving issues in our city than their party to work together (like most people in our city do every day).  

Thomas Davies

Kemp Town