The referendum on whether or not Brighton and Hove should have a directly-elected mayor is an essential test of democracy that we should all take part in.

If you are a real democrat and believe in collective choice, you must vote against a mayoral system.

The pro-mayor machine claims that by giving more power to one person, rather than a group representing different people, more democracy is the result.

This is obviously wrong because a mayoral system will reduce democratic participation in decision-making for us as local citizens.

Minority interest groups will have less of a say because elected representatives have powers removed from them.

Also, the temptation for an individual to be corrupted under a mayoral system is greater because there are fewer checks on power than in other systems.

This has been shown by the democratically bankrupt mayoral systems in Paris and many of the big US cities.

We all need to protect the ability of local councillors to make decisions in an open way.

-Jim Simpson, Loder Road, Brighton