IT WAS interesting to read Johnbosco Nwogbo’s letter in The Argus about the environmental record and ambition of Labour and the Greens.

While we can argue whose plans are more ambitious (I believe that Johnbosco has been selective and totally missed the point that for Greens every single policy is an environmental policy), what we can agree on is what matters... and that’s facts.

So here they are: Four years ago Labour promised to “get the basics right” in relation to missed bin collections and recycling.

Anyone living in the city can see that the current administration has abjectly failed on this promise. It’s hard to take any “ambitious” plans seriously when by their own definition they can’t even get the basics right.

What about their record? Here in the city Labour councillors voted against exploring improvements to our waste collection and management services with their lead on the environment Councillor Gill Mitchell saying that it is residents who should be doing more to tackle the problems instead.

Labour also signed the 30-year PFI contract that is largely responsible for the city’s poor recycling rates and have voted against the introduction of food waste collections, which would vastly improve our local rates, three times.

Labour councillors even recently voted to allow Zippo’s Circus to continue to visit the city with live animals as part of their performances.

What about the Greens? The record speaks for itself. The last Green administration delivered on 87 per cent of 187 manifesto pledges – some of which were award winning environmental policies.

In opposition over the last four years it was the Green Party who worked with community campaigns to demand an end to singleuse plastic in our council’s contracts and buildings.

It was a Green motion that called for the council to commit to major events in the city to be plastic free by 2020.

It was Greens who declared a climate emergency and recently amended the council budget to secure an extra £500,000 to tackle climate change in the city.

Greens transformed the Level, Greens laid the groundwork for the popular bike share scheme that Labour now take credit for.

Green councillors pushed for the introduction of water fountains in the city. Greens brought in millions of pounds worth of government funding to improve cycling infrastructure across Brighton and Hove.

Labour still support airport expansion, the renewal of Trident nuclear weapons and nuclear power instead of more investment in renewables.

Labour are still set on enabling Brexit that would make environmental challenges harder to tackle.

Like it or not, these are the facts.

It seems odd to me that Labour wants to talk about facts while they are still delivering leaflets that suggest to residents that they have 23 councillors when they actually have 19.

We do have a choice on May 2.

More of the same from Labour.

Or a party whose manifesto has environmental issues woven into every policy and a track record that proves it will deliver not only the basics – but be brave enough to be really transformative too.

Matthew Thomas, West Hill Place, Brighton