David Cameron tells Argus readers why he believes Brighton should vote Tory

But in today’s Argus you can read why David Cameron believes you should vote Conservative on May 7.

And while the Prime Minister has been accused of avoiding a one-to-one showdown with Ed Miliband, today he makes it clear that voters have a simple choice at the ballot box between Dave or Ed as Prime Minister.

Mr Cameron makes a forceful argument that the choice will be between competency and chaos with a threat to our city’s economy should voters make the wrong choice.

But opposing candidates in the city criticised Mr Cameron’s speech.

His opponents say that voters have many more than two and that the Conservatives can no longer claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility.

Peter Kyle, Labour candidate for Hove, said Mr Cameron’s claim to be the choice for family security would not be supported by 500 families in the city at risk of eviction due to the Bedroom Tax.

He said: “Conservative welfare reforms have made poor people vulnerable, led to the fewest number of new homes since the war, and a tax regime that leaves working families £1,300 worse off whilst those on the highest incomes get a break.

“Our new hospital, when it comes, will be great, but it won’t end regular scenes such as 20 patients in ambulances outside A&E unable to even get into the building let alone see a doctor. For that to happen we need the investment and reform measures that only Labour can deliver.

“Last week David Cameron announced an £8bn spending plan but refused to say where the money would come from. But based on his time in office we know what he’ll do - borrow.

“Labour, not the Tories, are the party that is going into this election as the party of economic responsibility and we will do so whilst maintaining the values of social justice and fairness that are the hallmarks of our outlook here in Brighton and Hove.”

Chris Bowers, Liberal Democrat candidate for Brighton Pavilion, said his party had played a significant role in bringing people out of income tax and opposing welfare cuts.

He added that it was “wishful thinking” on the Prime Minister’s part to think that it would be a straight choice between him and Mr Miliband.

He said: “To focus fully on who you want to be Prime Minister, Mr Cameron is totally missing the point of today’s politics.

“This is a five-party election in England and a seven or eight party election in total and I think people quite like that.

“We are going to have a government with at least two parties and the two main parties will be dependent on the support of other parties to get their programme through.”

Kevin Smith, Ukip candidate for Hove, questioned whether the Conservatives could continue to claim to be the party of financial responsibility when national debt had doubled on their watch.

He said: “I don’t think the Conservatives can make that claim, how can they say they are more competent?

“They are trying to convince the voters but the voters are not fools.

“They are throwing all these giveaways out now but why didn’t they do it sooner?

“Their manifesto is not properly costed, our manifesto has been fully costed and independently verified.”

Election analysis

It is not every day the Prime Minister offers to do your job for you.

But when The Argus was offered the opportunity of David Cameron writing for us, we did not hesitate in saying yes.

While other local newspapers have complained about a lack of access to the PM on the campaign trail, Mr Cameron has not only contributed an at-length piece but also given our re-launch a ringing endorsement.

The fact that just weeks before the biggest day in Mr Cameron’s political life, he is taking time out to speak to our readers just goes to show how highly he prizes your vote.

Brighton and Hove constituencies are poised play kingmaking role for David Cameron, as our marginal seats have done over the years.

And the polls indicate the party may have to pool its resources just to save Simon Kirby’s seat.

The campaigning approach is clear from Mr Cameron’s piece today, which aims to convince voters the country’s economic woes were the product of a two Ed-ed monster which could wreak similar chaos again.

But in the strange world of middle-ground posturing, Labour has been making a convincing case for being the party of fiscal responsibility while the Conservatives have been dogged and dodged questions on how they will fund some of their more eye-catching proposals.

The idea of a return to the Good Life may also be a hard sell in the city which has probably opposed austerity and welfare reform louder and longer than anywhere else.

Only the ballot box can decide whether his words will convince enough voters to turn the city blue on May 7.

"A Tory vote will keep out Ed"

David Cameron writing exclusively for The Argus

IT IS often said in surveys that Britain’s happiest people live in Brighton and Hove. I’m not surprised.

With a buzzing cultural scene, strong IT, finance and retail industries, and the beautiful coastline never much more than a pebble’s throw away, it’s a great place to live, work and visit. It’s also served by a fantastic local newspaper, The Argus, which, as readers can see from today’s re-launch, is going from strength to strength.

Like everywhere else in Britain, though, Brighton was hit hard by the great recession.

Jobs were lost, businesses were boarded up, homes were repossessed.

That’s what we found when we took office five years ago.

With the largest deficit of almost any Western nation, people were wondering whether Britain would ever be great again.

I’m not saying that we’ve fixed everything the last five years, but we are going in the right direction.

You can see it across Brighton. People’s taxes have been cut by an average of £825.

A record number of people are in work, giving them the security of a regular income.

All the people who come to this part of the country to retire have seen their pensions rise by £950.

We’ve cleared half the deficit as a share of our economy and interest rates have stayed at record low levels.

All this is leading to one crucial thing: security for you and your family.

And we’ve only been achieving it because we’ve turned our economy around.

The schools that teach our children, the hospitals that care for us when we’re ill, the Armed Forces that keep us safe – all these depend on a strong healthy economy.

Just think of our funding for the Royal Sussex County Hospital and the Greater Brighton city deal, a deal which is expanding the tech sector and creating thousands of new jobs here. None of that would have been possible if we hadn’t taken the difficult decisions, cut waste and got our deficit down.

In 20 days’ time, you will decide whether Brighton carries on going in the right direction, or whether it falls back to the chaos of the past.

And the fact is, whoever you vote for on May 7, there are only two people that can end up in Downing Street – me, or Ed Miliband.

A vote for anyone other than Conservatives could make Miliband Prime Minister.

And the result would be clear: more taxes, more spending, more borrowing and more debt – all the things that got Britain into a mess in the first place.

That would cost Brighton jobs, businesses, trade, tourism – and would cost you and your family dearly.

What’s more – and what’s worse – is the very real possibility of Miliband entering Downing Street on the coat tails of the SNP.

It would be an alliance between the people who want to bankrupt Britain and the people who want to break up Britain – and it would be disastrous for every city, town and village in this country.

We offer something different - continuing with our long-term economic plan, with the sole aim of making life better for you.

We can make this a country where hardworking people can have a good life. Where they can get a job and keep more of the money they earn.

Where parents can get a decent school place for their child, and young couples can get on the housing ladder.

Where pensioners get the dignity they deserve and our grandchildren aren’t lumbered with unsustainable debts.

I can make the case for that vision. But only you can make it a reality.

You can stop Labour wrecking our country again. And you can do that by voting Conservative on May 7.

Argus on the campaign trail

The Argus will be following the election countdown step-by-step, blow-by-blow right down to the wire.

At the start of next week we will do our second street profile focusing on resident voting intentions in two of our city’s marginal seats and will return every week until the election.

We will also be following all the biggest political stories in the upcoming weeks with all the big visits from party bigwigs and all the local battles.

Next Thursday, we will be shining a light on the local elections when the representatives of five parties thrash it out on the future of Brighton and Hove City Council.

Tickets are still available for the event at the Thistle Brighton Hotel next Thursday from 7pm, simply click on theargus.co.uk/debate2015 to claim your free ticket.

On election night, we will be covering all the counts that matters across our county and picking up the local election results as and when they are announced.

Stay tuned in the paper and online for all the hottest election news.