Last week we received the sad, but not unexpected news, that the i360 had gone into administration. Since its inception in 2016, the attraction has failed to meet the income projected by its owners, and has repeatedly been unable to make repayments to the City Council. The news of its failure is bad news for the city – both the staff whose futures are now uncertain and who I am concerned for, as well as ordinary residents who are left footing the £51 million its owners owe to the public purse.

Since taking office 18 months ago, your Labour Council has been fixed firmly on doing whatever we could to encourage a turnaround in the i360’s fortunes. Our deputy leader and councillor responsible for finance and city regeneration, Jacob Taylor, has met with the owners (as did I) to discuss diversifying the use of space which was tried. Now it has entered administration we are working closely with the administrators on the way forward, examining every conceivable option to defend residents’ interests and taxpayer money. We need a reset for this precious stretch of our coastline – it is in a prime location in one of the most popular seaside resorts in Europe and we are determined to turn the corner on the current catastrophe.

I’ve been clear the blame for this scandal lies with the Green Party of Brighton and Hove, along with local Conservative Party councillor cheerleaders. And I make no apology for making this clear. In 2014, the then Green Administration was faced with a clear choice. The initial plan for the i360 was for it to be privately financed. But when no buyer came forward, the Greens were asked to speculatively back the project with £36 million of public money via a loan from the public works board. The council would be responsible for paying it back, having supposedly been reimbursed by the i360 company. Residents didn’t want the i360 built and many observed at the time the numbers being touted didn’t add up. The Labour Party studied these numbers and our finance lead, former councillor for South Portslade, Les Hamilton, was clear the projected income was wildly optimistic. At the fateful committee meeting in 2014, our former leader, Warren Morgan, made a hugely prescient speech, warning against the disaster that is now being realised. Labour voted against the public loan. The Greens and Tories voted for it.

Mistrust in politics is low and as politicians we are frequently told: "You’re all the same." And so whenever there are stark points of difference, in values, policy and approach, it’s incumbent on us to point this out. And the Greens' financial incompetence has almost wrecked this city not just once but twice. Their second administration lasted from 2020-2023. In their final year in office they wildly overspent the budget they’d set, breaking the bank by £3 million. The council’s reserves were already dangerously low following 13 years of austerity from central government which has seen most councils use reserves to stay afloat. Their disastrous second term almost bankrupted the council. Thanks to some swift work by our Labour Administration, we are steering the council back on the path to financial sustainability – even managing to repay some of our reserves in our first year in office over 2023-24. This despite the fact that inflation was higher in our first year than in their last.

This all matters. Because without money we can’t do any of the things we want to deliver for residents. And the millions squandered by the Greens could otherwise be spent on ending homelessness, fixing potholes, street cleaning, nurseries – all of the priorities we know residents want us to deliver.

Another clear dividing line between us is our ability to take responsibility when things go wrong. In the Labour Party we know how to apologise. Take for example the toxic culture at Cityclean – I have issued an apology on behalf of the council and have personally delivered this apology to those most affected. Accountability and honesty are fundamental aspects of the Nolan principles which govern public life.

But, sadly, after I called on the Green Party to apologise for their i360 folly last week I was told: "We’ve considered apologising but decided not to." The Green MP, Sian Berry, even implored that "the i360 works as an attraction". I had expected they would struggle to apologise. The party reeks of a certain kind of arrogance. They believe they occupy the moral high ground and can do no wrong. And yet, their naivety, poor judgment and their absence of a coherent political vision, means they – twice- brought Brighton and Hove close to the edge. I hope this is the beginning of the end of Brighton’s ill-fated experiment with the Green Party.