How I agree with Ian Slater (Letters, November 18). I am not the only long-term resident to find Brighton and Hove unliveable-in.

Our councillors need to explain exactly why the city has virtually the worst social services in the country, why our provision for youth is so appalling, why the city has more drug deaths and credit-card fraud than anywhere else and why the place is filthy and dangerous to be in.

All this despite being the most profitable city for business in the UK (an achievement openly lauded as being based on cheap labour - that's you and me, folks).

We need serious answers from the people who govern us - why these things have happened and what they propose to do about it.

The city is a tragic disgrace and voters are fed up with councillors' trite excuses for failing to improve our basic services, ignoring the issues and, as Mr Slater says, sniping at members of the electorate when they complain.

-Gina Ware, West Street, Selsey