Pity the poor politician. These are not words I usually write since the blighters took it on themselves to get elected but I do feel sorry for those vainly trying to run the show both locally and nationally. Many work all hours and their reward is to be shot at from all sides.

It happened to John Major's Government and it is happening to Tony Blair. Many people have totally unrealistic expectations and are prepared to shoot at those who have put their heads above the parapet.

Tony Blair's office gets upwards of 100,000 letters a year plus thousands of e-mails and phone calls. The three MPs in Brighton each receive about 50 letters a day.

The politicians are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Take the councillors in Brighton and Hove (some would say the farther the better) and the dilemma over traffic. If they try to restrain cars they are howled down by business leaders and the vociferous Campaign for a Better Brighton and Hove. But if they do not they are harangued by the green lobby.

So on the one hand, they are berated for possibly allowing a supermarket on the station site which could generate some extra traffic and on the other they are being castigated for new parking and traffic management schemes intended to improve conditions for motorists, pedestrians and bus users.

They are being attacked by countryside lovers for daring to suggest developments on some portions of downland stuck between the built-up area and the bypass and by business leaders for stifling enterprise if they do not.

Individuals are asserting their rights as never before. Some have a just cause. Others are confounded nuisances who write missives in green ink and increasingly have access to computers where they can create even more mayhem.

Pressure groups can be remarkably effective and they know exactly what to do. Friends of the Earth and the Campaign for a Better Brighton and Hove seem to be everywhere. Each side can organise successful meetings attended by hundreds of people, which is probably more than the politicians themselves can muster.

Yet it is the politicians who are elected and the others who are not. In some cases, pressure groups have remarkably small memberships. I recall when I was a reporter in London one was revealed to be a one-man band playing a very loud and effective tune.

Ruling politicians locally and nationally also have to contend with an adversarial system of politics which is becoming increasingly fissured. At Westminster, Tony Blair has to deal, not only with that good Parliamentary performer William Hague, but also Welsh and Scottish Nationalists. In Brighton and Hove, Labour leaders have to deal with the official Tory opposition plus both the Green and Liberal Democrat minority groups.

No wonder they fall back into defensive positions, trying to be all things to all people, and resorting increasingly to public relations sheen to add lustre to what they are doing. No wonder awkward decisions are endlessly deferred, whether it is is joining the euro or tackling the waste mountain.

In a vain bid to satisfy people, they move into the middle of the road. But like hedgehogs, they do not seem to realise that is exactly where you are most likely to be run down.

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