For anyone still making up their mind in Brighton Pavilion

So- today is the day. This blog is for anyone who has still not made up their mind on who to vote for in Brighton Pavilion. I'm firstly working from an assumption that you're not going to vote Conservative and the Lib Dems have no chance of gaining power here, as they're too far behind.

This leaves a realistic choice between Labour and the Green party.

Now the Green party have a fantastic manifesto. They say all the right things and you really can't argue with their policies.

What you can argue with is their maths. Their manifesto contains selective costings and a lot of it is pie in the sky. Go and check it out for yourself if you're unsure.

Caroline Lucas, the Green leader and local candidate, is not based in Brighton. She is an MEP and spends a lot of her time in Brussels. In the many local debates she has been shown up for not talking about what is happening locally.

What the Greens HAVE done locally since electing several councillors is stand in the way of local people. They objected to a development of the Marina that would have secured several hundred much needed social housing developments, not to mention created several hundred jobs for local people.

Their manifesto includes tax increases on alcohol, cigarettes, betting and transport. Think about that. Who is going to suffer the most from these rises? The people who need it the most.

The Greens have ridden Nick Clegg's coat-tails for the past few weeks, but all I ask before you vote is that you make sure you are clear on the facts. Go read the manifesto and make your own mind up. The Greens' strongest selling point, their proposed living wage, is now being proposed by Labour, though without the tax hikes that will offset the benefits.

If you are thinking of voting Green, the ultimate truth is that the best case scenario is that they will gain one seat locally (though the Greens would have to overturn a Labour majority of nearly 6000 and they face a mountainous struggle to do this, regardless of what the opinion polls that they commissioned say) and thus will be taking one away from Labour nationally - thereby letting the Conservatives in nationally.

A GREEN VOTE IS A BLUE VOTE. The Greens will tell you that voting Labour will let the Conservatives in - before you listen to them, check out the facts - a 6000 majority is very hard to turn around.

Nancy Platts is the only local candidate campaigning for local people. She is the most genuine and accessible of the candidates and with a history in the community sector her heart and values are in the right place.

If your heart is in the right place, do the right thing and vote Labour today.

NB: Comments removed from this blog only because I will be at work and won't have time to respond today

A public apology to Charlotte Vere

You see, if there's one reason why I could never be a politician, it's because I'm crap at arguing in person due to my poor memory and inability to remember important facts and figures. If there's a second reason, it's because I can bring myself to say things like  "I was wrong" and "I'm sorry". That's what I am going to do now.

I want to issue a public apology to Charlotte Vere, the Conservative candidate for Brighton Pavilion.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Earlier in my blog I accused her of being bitter and aggressive toward the Green Party. Indeed, from first reading her tweets this is how I perceived the situation.

What I have since realised is just quite how annoying the Greens actually are. Their persistent re-positioning, their perfect-world mentality and their general sanctimonious tone stinks of desperation and is just too much for me to bear. I really can't blame Charlotte for rising to them.

Of course I haven't even mentioned their policies. The problem is not just that I can't disagree with any of them, but that they are apparently funded by an pot of infinite cash (see possibly the only Conservative blog post I'll ever agree with).

Lastly, the irony that the "Green" party have posted more fliers through my letterbox than any other party - often the same content laid out differently. Someone tell me that this isn't a complete waste of time, money and natural resources.

So here it is - Charlotte, I'm genuinely sorry for my earlier comments. Now I have this in context I can understand where you were coming from, and I have found new respect for you in the way you have publicly challenged the Greens on their policies.

Though I shall still be voting for Labour's Nancy Platts, any affection I had for the Green Party is slowly being ground away by their own representatives.