Lord Bassam, the former leader of Brighton and Hove Council, attended a meeting on Friday, October 6, to discuss homelessness and begging. He was quoted as saying he would like to see less harassment of people by beggars and sellers of the Big Issue (Argus, October 7).
Big Issue vendors purchase their copies of Big Issue then re-sell to the general public, making a profit on each copy sold. They do this so they don't have to beg. This attitude deserves some respect.
As a regular purchaser of the Big Issue, I always find vendors pleasant and polite. I do not believe they harass people. Let's not include these vulnerable people in this begging clampdown. We must not rob them of the self-respect they are obviously keen to rebuild.
-Gloria Wheatcroft, The Drive, Hove
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