In all the furore concerning the expulsion/resignation of Francis Tonks and myself from the Labour Party, let us not lose sight of the magnificent Defend Council Housing campaign led by David Bangs and Jane Erin, which produced 77 per cent of the votes to stay as council tenants.

Francis and I were proud to join that campaign but the task of contacting more then 12,000 tenants was formidable and the odds were against us. When the result was announced, Francis and I wrote to Dave and Jane congratulating them on their leadership of the campaign but warning that the privatisers had not gone away and that we needed them to continue campaigning.

The letter was an open testimonial to their work and my view was and is that David is perfectly entitled to quote from that letter which has become his and Jane's intellectual property.

Some people treat political party membership as a tribal affair - I do not. To defend the democratic committee system in the council, I happily worked with Green, Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat members. To defend council housing I was happy to work with members of other parties in support of the common cause.

Let us be glad we finally have a prime minister who wants to put affordable housing high on his agenda so we can all work together towards a common goal.

  • Jack Hazelgrove, Ditchling Road, Brighton