It beggars belief that Tom Druitt and David Gibson would write a letter that starts by asserting that Labour's statements on the budget overspend are "at worst intentionally misleading" when the first claim in their response is an outright and demonstrable falsehood.

They state that "the 2019-20 budget had an overspend of £2.8 million". It did not.

Council budgets are annual and the final position of the 2019-20 financial year saw Labour deliver a balanced budget, ie an overall "outturn" (overspend) position of zero. The equivalent overall outturn position for the Greens’ 2022-23 is £3 million.

In the past ten years, Labour has never overspent a budget. In fact, council officers cannot remember the budget ever being overspent until this example.

Brighton and Hove residents will likely be aghast to read two former Green councillors describe themselves as delivering "careful financial stewardship" in relation to their Green Party administration. This from the party that gave the city the i360 and the huge associated debts that the council is now stuck with.

They claim this “careful financial stewardship” was responsible for turning the 2020-21 projected overspend of £30 million to an underspend of £9.7 million. And yet they weren't able to use this supposed financial acumen to reduce a much smaller projected deficit in 2022-23? No, apparently, for that year's budget we have to "remember that the Green administration was a minority administration", working "in collaboration with all political groups". So when they underspent it was their careful financial stewardship and when they overspent it was the responsibility of all parties? You can't have it both ways I'm afraid and Brighton and Hove residents have seen through this hypocrisy.

The language in the letter reveals what we've long known to be true: the Greens didn't take responsibility when in office and never really considered themselves an administration.

I note that neither Tom Druitt nor David Gibson sought re-election in May. We thank them for their public service and wish them well in their future endeavours. But it is Labour who have been left to clean up the council budget mess they have left behind.

Councillor Jacob Taylor

Deputy leader of Brighton and Hove City Council and finance lead