Rik Child, councillor for the Green Party, makes several points which need to be taken to task.

property for the homelessness problem? I have lived in Brighton for less than a year and find his views quite offensive. Am I to blame for people being homeless? Is it my fault I have saved over the past six years and worked hard so I can afford a tiny place of my own in a city I have come to regard as home? I wonder whether he has such a negative view of tourists who also choose to visit such a fine city, as I am sure many businesses reliant on their trade would certainly have something to say.

Any policy on homelessness has to ensure people are given the opportunity to find cheap, clean and affordable accommodation in the private rented sector. They want a hand up, not a hand out.

Instead of criticising Councillor Brian Oxley, who is quite right to suggest tough measures need to be taken against anti-social tenants as well as people from other parts of the country who clearly see Brighton and Hove's housing policy as a soft touch, Coun Child should support measures designed to help local residents on the waiting list for affordable accommodation. He should also realise if his party expects to be taken seriously, politics is about hard policy choices and the art of the possible, not about saying whatever it takes to get elected.

Jonathan Sheppard

-Coombe Road, Brighton