Not in their best interest

Opponents of a residents' parking scheme for streets around the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton did themselves no favours when they disrupted a committee meeting due to discuss the plans.

And it was tacky of them to put out empty chairs with names on for the councillors who failed to turn up to a protest meeting last week.

The council is right to point out the scheme was first approved three years ago and that there's been loads of consultation.

But hundreds of residents are genuinely angry and others don't know much about it. That's why the Argus is giving both sides of the argument today.

It would be unwise of the council simply to push through the traffic orders without taking some account of streets where people say there's no problem, or without making some adjustment to details on visitor or business permits.

But it would be crazy for residents to attempt more disruption at the postponed committee meeting tomorrow. That way councillors will be forced to meet in private and it's unlikely that any concessions at all will be made.

Poor record

West Sussex County Council has hardly covered itself with glory in the last year. It scrapped hot school dinners for young schoolkids and got into a mess over its waste tip at Sompting.

Now an independent body recommends councillors are awarded huge rises in allowances, almost doubling the present total.

It will be seen as a slap in the face for the many who have suffered as a result of poor decisions from County Hall.

And the only point the council makes for better allowances that strikes a chord is that you might get a better calibre of councillor in the future if they were paid more.

Maybe a fib!

Cheeky Mayoral candidate Lord Archer is using Maybe Because It's I'm a Londoner in his high profile campaign.

He's been given permission to use it by the 85-year-old composer, Hubert Gregg from Eastbourne, who doesn't mind at all.

It's cheeky because Lord Archer hails from Weston-Super-Mare and uses that in his title. He's not a Londoner at all. And he may find Ken Livingstone, if he gets the Labour nomination, as an authentic son of London is more in tune with the electors.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.