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Lawrence Marzouk - May 2
12:20pm Friday 2nd May 2008
With four councils holding elections this year, the results will provide an updated picture of the political landscape of the county.
Lawrence Marzouk is our local government correspondent and has a keen understanding of the issues affecting the region and the politicians whose job it is to represent us.
Lawrence will answer your questions about this year's elections and local politics in general below.
Your Say YourArgus
Lawrence, The Argus says...
12:47pm Fri 2 May 08
The Greens tend to do well in left-leaning cities such as Brighton and Hove, Oxford or Norwich. Other areas of Sussex do not fit so well into this category.
It is also a question of becoming a credible force. Their support often snowballs after they have gained one or two seats in the town hall. The Greens would need to make a similar breakthrough in other areas of Sussex, outside of Brighton and Hove, to really start making their mark in the elections.
Bob, says...
12:53pm Fri 2 May 08
Lawrence, The Argus says...
12:54pm Fri 2 May 08
Rachel, says...
12:56pm Fri 2 May 08
Do you think Brighton and Hove can weather the credit crunch without all the major projects collapsing? What do those in power need to do to make sure the city doesn't grind to a halt?
Steven Barnett, Making the tea says...
12:58pm Fri 2 May 08
Lawrence, The Argus says...
12:59pm Fri 2 May 08
Yes, the major projects can weather the credit crunch, although most of the projects, as we have already seen, are likely to be delayed. How badly they are affected and whether any flounder will come down to the length of the economic turmoil and how far house prices fall.
Thomas Fletcher, Hove says...
1:02pm Fri 2 May 08
Lawrence, The Argus says...
1:05pm Fri 2 May 08
It is not for me to say whether Brian Oxley should or shouldn't have stayed council leader, but it was a surprised. You usually get a sense of when somebody has been deposed from his or her position and my radar was not picking this up. If it was a coup, the smell of gunpowder was distinctly absent.
Dave, says...
1:06pm Fri 2 May 08
Lawrence, The Argus says...
1:12pm Fri 2 May 08
I am a firm believer in the efficiency of unitary authorities and think it would make more sense for Sussex to be split along those lines. But we would need more than three, as East Sussex and West Sussex are too large to work as unitary authorities. The centre of power would seem quite distant to many voters, I think.
Skunky, Hove says...
1:17pm Fri 2 May 08
Lawrence, The Argus says...
1:20pm Fri 2 May 08
All council systems have benefits and drawbacks.
The new cabinet will make taking difficult decisions a lot easier by concentrating power in the hands of a few councillors.
But this will relegate many councillors to more backroom roles.
The world is unlikely to collapse as a result of the change but I think the previous set-up was more democratic.
Paul Elgood, Brunswick & Adelaide says...
1:24pm Fri 2 May 08
Lawrence, The Argus says...
1:26pm Fri 2 May 08
We can, and the council should, stop wasting so much money by drinking tap water. The council makes a lot of noise about its environmental credentials but this is one area it seems to have overlooked.
Gordon, says...
1:28pm Fri 2 May 08
Lawrence, The Argus says...
1:37pm Fri 2 May 08
Given today's swing, Labour would find it difficult to retain any of the seats in Brighton and Hove. The Tories would be favourite for Hove and Kemptown. The Greens and Tories would be in the running in Pavilion.
But the election remains a long way off and people often vote differently in local and national elections.
Lawrence, The Argus says...
1:47pm Fri 2 May 08
As you may know from yesterday's story in The Argus, the system is full of holes that fraudsters could easily exploit.
Luckily, postal vote fraud remains fairly uncommon in this country.
But that is purely down to the honesty of candidates and supporters and nothing to do with the safeguards in place.
We urgently need much tougher security checks if we are to avoid repeats of the election fraud seen in Birmingham, Blackburn and Slough.
Lawrence, The Argus says...
1:48pm Fri 2 May 08
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Lawrence Marzouk
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Tim, says...
12:37pm Fri 2 May 08
Why do you think Green candidates in areas other than Brighton and Hove don't fare so well?