CURBING DEBT AND SECURING BETTER PUBLIC SERVICES

Conservative Party posters around the country are proclaiming David Cameron's pledge to cut the deficit not the NHS. That is the right policy for Brighton and Britain.

Left-wing parties argue that only by putting more and more money into public services can they be improved. Yet, Conservative-run councils up and down the country prove that with firm financial discipline, clear aims, allowing people who know their jobs to get on with them and seeking efficiencies wherever they can be found, it is possible to find savings while protecting the frontline services that people rely on.

In Brighton and Hove, for example, savings of some £10m have been made since the Conservatives took control of the Council in 2007 and yet the Council's rating by an independent national watchdog has seen its score improve to 4 start out of 4 - an excellent rating. On social services where difficult decisions often have to be taken, recent independent figures show three out of seven services rated as excellent with four performing well, compared to none being excellent in 2006/07.

In East Sussex, the approach of matching policy to resources has created a culture where services are delivered against a background of a clear occur on reducing costs and promoting innovation where this will help in the delivery of services.

Councils such as Wandsworth and Westminster in London show that with long-term financial discipline and a relentless drive to cut costs, taxes and spending can be kept under control while service standards are held to a high level. Hammersmith and Fulham Council is even cutting Council tax and has done so for some years.

In short, you will hear Labour and other politicians saying that David Cameron's pledge to curtail Britain's debt cannot be attained without damaging public services. The reality is Conservatives are proving it CAN be done locally. In the event of Conservative victory in the General Election, it will be done nationally as well.