I recently attended a public debate on the mayoral referendum and was puzzled why Conservative councillor Garry Peltzer-Dunn is supporting the so-called Allies For Democracy (the No campaign to you and me).

The Conservative Party has always presented itself nationally as the friend of business.

Locally, Conservatives have always pledged support for attracting new business to Brighton and Hove.

Such investment is essential for creating employment and maintaining a buoyant local economy.

The Allies For Democracy paper contains a number of articles that attack businesses large and small.

Such anti-business attacks should come as no surprise since the paper is printed and published not by a local printer but by a London firm owned by the Socialist Workers Party.

Let us hope that if the No campaign wins, such articles do not deter larger businesses from investing in Brighton and Hove and creating jobs for local people.

Conservative voters will be interested to learn that one of the authors of such an article in the paper is Councillor Peltzer-Dunn.

Why is a prominent Conservative writing for a paper that attacks business published by the hard-left?

Is Coun Peltzer-Dunn naive or politically opportunistic or is it the case that the extremist tail is wagging the Tory dog?

-Sharon Rose, Dean Gardens, Portslade