Conservatives: Reform needed

Brighton and Hove is unique in many ways, most of which are positive and help make it such a popular and attractive place to live.

Sadly, we are also unique in one other, less enviable, way. We have a city council that, unlike virtually every other council in the land, has failed to reform and modernise its services, both to deliver a better outcome for residents and to accommodate the reductions in government funding that have been known about for at least the last four years.

There is a severe limit to what we can achieve as an opposition group, amending the Green administration's proposals. I believe, however, that the amendments we will be putting forward at Budget Council later this month point to the direction we would take this council should we be running it after May 7.

Our mission is to deliver the best quality services for your money, which means engaging with the city's excellent not-for-profit sector to deliver better services such as youth services, children's centres, and day centres for adults. We do not agree with the Labour and Green assumptions that services provided directly by council officers are always the best, or indeed the best value.

We will be arguing that the proposals put forward by officers to drag the Cityclean service into the 21st century are vital if residents are to get the refuse, recycling and street-cleaning service they deserve. It really makes no sense for the Greens to have ignored officers' advice and shelved these plans in their budget proposals. And, after May, we would go still further and look to turn Cityclean into a John-Lewis-style mutual organisation.

We will be seeking to reverse the proposed cuts to public toilets, which we believe are madness in a tourist city. Public toilets are also vital in giving some of our older residents the confidence to get out and about in the city. Similarly, for a Green administration to be putting forward proposals to stop all tree-planting is frankly baffling, in the same way as their dismal recycling record. We shall be looking to reverse this. We will also be looking to streamline what we believe is a top-heavy and cumbersome management structure at the council.

Finally, we must make use of the funding on offer from the Government - Â£1.2 million - to deliver a council-tax freeze to residents. To continue to turn this amount of money down, as the Greens have done with the backing of Labour for the last two years, is simply perverse. The council tax increases being proposed by the Labour and Green groups this year are well in excess of inflation and really cannot be justified, particularly at a time when other household bills such as gas, electricity, and petrol are actually falling.

My colleagues and I have spoken to a considerable number of residents over the last four years or so and the vast majority do not want their council tax to increase, especially when the council cannot even get the basics - such as rubbish collection - right.

Geoffrey Theobald is leader of the Conservative Group on Brighton and Hove City Council. For more information, visit: www.brightonandhoveconservatives.com.

Greens: Fairness in tough times - Have Your Say

Conservatives: Reform is needed - Have Your Say

Labour: Our positive policies - Have Your Say

UKIP: Use all the council's resources - Have Your Say

Liberal Democrats: Creative ways to generate income - Have Your Say