What a shabby show was put on for local residents wishing to see the election announcements for themselves.

While it might have been reasonable to limit numbers at Hove Town Hall, I was incredulous to find we were led into a downstairs hall with nothing but a giant TV.

A stern notice explained there were no refreshments available and that no re-admittance would be possible, even with the ticket issued.

Needless to say, there were refreshments upstairs for the candidates and supporters - and one kindly Green gentleman brought down a trayful.

More worrying was our inability to witness the results live and hear the candidates speak on stage.

I did so in 1977 and 2001 without a ticket to the count itself.

All that happened was the TV went off and some guy read the results off a sheet of paper. Wow!

Worst of all was the treatment given to a couple of Bob Dobbs supporters. The way a girl in a pink wig was wrestled to the floor and pinned down really shows the kind of society Blair has led us into.

The fact "BLT" (Barlowe, Lepper, Turner - not a tasty sandwich) found their glory in a cloistered area reminiscent of a mini G8 summit should have us all worried.

Of course, the count itself must have strictly controlled access but Brighton and Hove City Council failed in its democratic duties by placing the announcements in this secure area.

These should have been downstairs, where there were enough police and security guards to handle crowd control.

We could see public annoucements on TV from all over the country, yet in Brighton and Hove - no.

-Peter Poole, Hove