Councillor Mark Barnard (The Argus, February 4) knows full well it is not Brighton and Hove City Council Conservative group's housing policy to compulsorily transfer the council's housing stock to other social landlords. We want to devolve as much power as possible to tenants.

As housing spokesman for the Lib Dems, he needs to realise that creating housing policy is more than simply putting out misleading statements about your opponent's policy. We look forward to his creative housing suggestions for the city with great interest.

The Greens (Letters, February 8) allege bigotry on our part against homeless people when, in fact, their comments show their own dislike of people who can afford to buy a home in the city. They ignore our two-pronged approach for dealing with the homeless crisis of making more private-

sector homes available for rent through changes to housing benefit rules and by working with other councils to find homes for homeless people in areas that don't have the problems of Brighton and Hove.

Finally, it is typical of Labour councillors and sympathisers (Councillor Steve Collier and Warren Morgan, Letters, February 11) that when they cannot answer the point they try to distort their opponents' position. Coun Collier is the last one who should lecture anybody on housing policy as it was under his stewardship of Hove's housing in 1995-7 that rent arrears for council houses and flats went up by £1,000 a week.

It is he who should apologise for the housing imbalances he and his colleagues have inflicted, with prices for private homes going through the roof, a homeless crisis the like of which we have never seen before and council house rent arrears at a level which should make Labour councillors hang their heads in shame.

In no way are our policies "playing to the gallery", as Mr Morgan suggested. Nor have we suggested homeless people "should be rounded up". Our policy is a coherent, consistent strategy we believe will alleviate the worst of the housing problems affecting the city.

Coun Brian Oxley

-Conservative opposition leader, Brighton and Hove City Council