Councillor Ken Bodfish's suggestion (Letters, November 14) that Brighton and Hove City Council bears no responsibility for 50 per cent of houses sold going to well-off London commuters and the city's being swamped by trendy cafes - "it just happens" - is, as he says, almost comical.

The council has deliberately pursued a strategy of attracting all sorts of luvvies and media figures.

This might not be so bad if it didn't mean young people who live here have almost no chance of being able to afford to buy a home.

Leaving aside the flawed statistics of Councillor Jackie Lythell, why did the council pour its time and energy into the Capital of Culture campaign when it was obvious to anybody who didn't wear blinkers we stood no chance?

It is really outrageous for a professional politician to throw his hands up and say there's nothing to be done.

The Government could introduce legislation guaranteeing security of tenure.

People who are renting property would not then live in fear that someone would buy their home over their heads. Or does a slavish addiction to the free market prevent such initiatives?

The council could also use its planning powers to deny any further change of use to cafes and the conversion of old pubs to trendy bars.

The fact is, at the same time as the council's housing department is encouraging poorer people to move to the North, it is running one campaign after another for the benefit of a trendy few.

-Tony Greenstein, Brighton and Hove Unemployed Workers' Centre