FOLLOWING the publication of the agenda for the July city council meeting, The Friends of Brighton and Hove Citizens Action Group is extremely concerned about the amount of council time that is being wasted on irrelevant matters.

In their choices for discussion this month, the Greens and Labour have both each included items asking the council to debate the decision of the US Supreme Court regarding Roe vs Wade on abortion in America.

This is not a council issue. It is not even a national issue or international issue concerning this country. It is an issue of another country’s domestic politics. It has nothing to do with the business of running Brighton and Hove City Council. It is not even a Green issue.

It is an insult to local taxpayers that the Greens and Labour keep wasting valuable time of the city council by insisting these matters are discussed, and particularly when they only hold seven or eight full council meetings a year.

In this council term nuclear weapons have been debated twice at the behest of Labour and numerous other UN level items have been brought forward by the Greens. Hours and hours of council time has been wasted.

These councillors are elected to run the city council. They are doing an appalling job of it with basic services not functioning properly from parking permits not being issued to pavements not being cleared of weeds and bins not being collected.

These are the issues that need to be discussed urgently, not matters of the US Supreme Court.

Voters should remember this at the next election – there is no point electing another council that is more concerned with what is happening in America than on our doorstep.

Meanwhile our city and its precious heritage rots, basic services are cut and neglected and whole areas become graffiti ghettos.

Laura King

Friends of Brighton and Hove Citizens' Action Group