When will Jean Calder and those of a similar political persuasion accept that their views have never been popular with the electorate (The Argus, May 31)?

Tony Benn was a divisive figure. He and others rendered Labour unelectable for nearly two decades. Indeed, had he secured the deputy leadership in 1981 the party would probably have been finished as a political force.

Whether one liked him or not Tony Blair, like Margaret Thatcher, was a successful leader. Both won three general elections.

In less then a year Gordon Brown has made basic errors.

The Conservative proposal on inheritance tax completely wrong-footed the Prime Minister.

This was the first of his U-turns.

The 10p tax folly and the refusal to honour his referendum promise on the Lisbon treaty are others. The European social chapter and Human Rights Act have led to problems in this country.

We have soaring levels of gun and knife crime. And putting the rights of criminals before victims are attributable to these policies.

It is a fact of life that the centre right is the most popular political system in the free world.

If Labour drifts to the left the Conservatives will seize the centre ground and win the next election.

  • Richard Szypulski, Lavender Street, Brighton

Socialist ideals are alive and well in Brighton and Hove (Letters, May 29) but you won't find them in the Labour Party.

The Socialist Party has been actively campaigning in this city for years. We played a visible role in defeating Brighton and Hove City Council's attempt to privatise council housing.

At the University of Sussex, our members have been campaigning successfully for better services for students, including longer opening hours for the library and refectory.

We were involved in the students' and lecturers' struggle to save the chemistry department.

We have also been involved in the campaign Keep Our NHS Public, which is now of vital significance given recent developments in Sussex.

We always seek to learn from our campaigning experience and to bring those experiences to those faced with cuts to services.

We were told we had no choice with the council housing but tenants still voted against all the parties in the council on this issue.

Socialists stand for public services and oppose privatisation.

We fight for the interests of ordinary working people, not for the interests of the rich. We oppose the oil wars in the Middle East. We say public representatives should receive the average salary of those people they represent and that all their expenses should be carefully checked by members of the public, with this information being made freely available. We support free education at all levels and a minimum wage you can actually live on.

In other words we are the diametric opposite of everything New Labour stands for.

  • Richard Mullin, Brading Road, Brighton