Dear Eric Pickles,

You seem a little confused this morning. I notice you are quoted in several places stating that “Weekly rubbish collections are the most visible of all frontline services…“. Fair enough, if the council did not collect the rubbish at all there would be uproar, so I can’t disagree with you there. But then you go on “…I believe every household in England has a basic right to have their rubbish collected every week“.

I’ve had a quick look at Liberty’s guide to human rights and oddly, bin collections are not listed. Right to marry is, so perhaps you were confused on the way to an equal marriage consultation and went into the wrong room.

There’s also the right to vote, something I know your Conservative colleagues have had trouble with understanding recently when it comes to prisoners. But I just thought I’d point these out, because if you are on a “basic rights” crusade, I felt you might want directing towards some more fundamental matters than weekly bin collections.

Hope this helps,

Zoë.