THURSDAY is D-Day for many youth services in Brighton and Hove.

It’s the day when city councillors will vote on whether to slash funding for vital organisations that keep our city as the unique place it is.

There can be few more important areas than providing help to young people as they grow up.

It is at the core of our society.But the future of many of these groups hangs in the balance because of local government cuts.

On Saturday we focused on the pressures that West Sussex Council was facing. It is increasing council tax by 3.95 per cent as well as making £17 million savings.

The picture across Brighton and Hove remains equally grim.

Brighton and Hove Council says it has to find more than £20 million cuts and even then council tax will rise by 4.99 per cent.

That doesn’t make good reading for the city’s population.

The Labour-controlled council has put forward the savings to youth services.

Today we ask each and every one of those councillors: have you looked everywhere you possibly can to make savings?

We ask them to consider: is there any bloated area of services that could be reduced?

And we say to them: hand on heart, are you really going to affect young people’s lives with such a heartless reduction in services?

We realise that times are difficult in local government with the reduction in funding from central Government.

The Tories and Greens may well block the cuts if they vote together.

Whatever happens on Thursday the cuts have to come from somewhere.

As with all things, it’s a matter of where our priorities lie.