The Labour Party did not attend East Saltdean Residents' Association (ESRA) recent annual general meeting because we believe it is a front for the Conservative Party.

We were also aware the prospective candidate for the Conservative Party was to be there to 'press the flesh'. The Labour Party candidate, John Carden, did attend the meeting in a private capacity and asked questions which were not answered as clearly as one would hope from a political party.

As for ESRA's achievements, two stand out. The first was the town hall, which nobody wanted anyway and the second was allowing a group of travellers to remain on Telscombe Tye for a month.

-Doug Lawrence, Vice chairman, Peacehaven and Rottingdean Labour Party