The Government has just allowed US B-52 bombers back on to our soil as preparations for war against Iraq move onwards.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party appears to have gone into a panic in the Brighton and Hove city elections as it tries to persuade voters who object to Tony Blair's war plans to vote Labour by using scare tactics.

The chief of these is to claim the Tories will retake control of Brighton and Hove City Council if voters opt for peace-supporting parties such the Greens.

This is patronising rubbish which voters will not swallow. In most districts where the Greens are campaigning, the Tory vote is insignificant - it is a straight race between New Labour and Greens.

Additionally, any casual observer of politics can see the Tories are in complete meltdown. In the event of a power-sharing council, the Greens have no intention of entering coalitions with either the Tories or Lib Dems.

If elected, the Greens would form a constructive group on the council, helping to develop a realistic, alternative programme to repair the damage of 16 years of monopoly Labour rule.

The real problem is New Labour. Voters are now realising that Tony Blair and his friends effectively are the Tories.

-Simon Williams prospective Green Party candidate, St Peter's and North Laine ward, Brighton