Dear Brighton & Hove Residents, 

Later today, Labour’s alternative budget plans for Brighton & Hove City Council will be published.

These alternative proposals will be tabled at a council meeting this Thursday 3^rd March at Brighton Town Hall and Labour will be pushing to protect vital local services and jobs in Brighton & Hove and we have shown where the money will come from.

As we all know, the Tory-led Government has imposed deep spending cuts of £82.5 million on Brighton & Hove during the next four years. They have unfairly front-loaded these cuts, slashing £34million from the council budget this year alone.

Brighton & Hove’s Tory Council have so far handled the entire budget-making process appallingly; so much so, even one of their own Councillors recently slammed the 3-day delay in producing the Tory budget, as disgraceful and “absurd.”

They have also wasted tax-payers money by appointing 4 ‘Super Directors’ on £125,000 salaries (only slightly less than the Prime Minister is paid) with recruitment costs and pay-offs costing £1million alone. Their prejudice against cycling has also led them to waste thousands on abandoned plans

When Labour finally saw the delayed budget, all we could see was smoke and mirrors. For example, hidden away at the back was the £1.1million removal of Hove’s cycle lane and tucked into the middle of the budget were officer concerns that this budget was “challenging.”

Despite unprecedented cuts, the Tories had managed to prevent job losses and cut council tax- but how did they do this? Well, they cynically planned for the short term, assumed a figure of 2% inflation (when it currently stands at 4%) and raided the reserves to deliver a pre-election bribe budget. Even their own party leader, David Cameron, recently stated that tax cuts were simply unaffordable in the current economic climate.

This Tory budget is reckless and unstable and is based more on election gimmicks than sound financial planning.

With inflation rising and when further cuts are made, the Tory budget as it stands will struggle to stand up to the test. It puts council services at further risk with job losses and will further affect frontline services to those who rely upon them the most. This is the Tories last throw of the dice in their great election giveaway; a desperate gamble with our city’s finances.

Labour opposes this Tory budget. We all know savings must be found, but this budget unfairly targets certain sectors of our community, for example cyclists, bus users, older people, children and young people.

So, what would Labour do?

Labour will reverse the 1% Tory Tax Bribe- the equivalent of £10 per year reduction on average- to keep a council tax freeze, ensuring local people don’t spend anymore than they currently do on their council tax, and Labour will reverse the £1m decision to rip-up Hove’s cycle-lane.

These policy reversals will save around £2million. Enough to protect local jobs and the worst cuts to frontline services local people care about, which were threatened under the Tory’s proposals; these include:

• Community safety (including work with drugs and alcohol)
• Dealing with young offenders
• Community care
• Community development
• School improvement service
• Education welfare service
• Supported bus routes
• Personalised care for the vulnerable
• New careers guidance service
• School’s equalities and anti-bullying work

Labour will also be using money saved to:

• Reverse the proposed charge for car club parking bays
• Freeze the price of parking permits
• Create a Food waste pilot
• Create a Citywide Financial Inclusion Strategy
• Prudently invest money back into council reserves to prevent further disruption such as job losses or service cuts.

Labour’s Alternative Budget Proposals in Numbers…

£1.011million

Schools, children and family services

£400,000

Older people’s personal care

£240,000

Community safety, youth offending, tackling drug and alcohol abuse

£232,000

Building better communities in Brighton & Hove

£214,000

Reverse the charge for car club parking bays

£14,000

Trialling a new environmental initiative to recycle Food Waste

£50,000

Reversing Tory cuts to our local bus routes

£15,000

Reversing Tory cuts to local community groups

£400,000

Creating a Citywide financial inclusion strategy- to support local debt advice services, so that they can continue to provide free and fair financial advice during these tough economic times and fight loan sharks.