CONSERVATIVE group leader Tony Janio says it is only his party which can sort out the city’s problems after releasing “an alternative budget”.

Mr Janio said most of Brighton and Hove’s problems, including refuse collections, homelessness, littering and graffiti, can be resolved if the proposals are adopted.

The plans, which were announced today, recommend reducing several administrative services to save £639,000.

This could be invested in children’s services, young people with disabilities and sexual health services.

The Tory group leader of Brighton and Hove City Council also proposes to cut Labour’s tax rise from 2.99 per cent to 2.62 per cent.

He said: “After four years of Labour, it’s not surprising Conservatives can find areas where money is still being wasted.

“We are proposing cutting this waste to give council tax payers a small break.

“We are able to go further by using some of these resources to support some of the most vulnerable people in our city.

“On the doorsteps, people tell us they are ashamed of the state of our city. We are not just saying Conservatives can sort this out, we have made concrete proposals providing the resources to do it.

“A smaller rise in council tax means there would be almost no real terms rise.

“It demonstrates a clear commitment to our tax payers as ‘Conservatives will always cost you less’.”

The Tories propose to put an additional £1 million investment for waste collection and new street cleaning equipment. They recommended another £1.9 million to invest in pavements, parks, bus stops and grass verges.

Mr Janio said: “Rather than making meaningless, unfunded promises to ‘get the basics right’ like Labour did in 2015, we’ve made the first moves in our plan to get the city clean and looking like a place in which we can all be proud to live and work.”

Conservative finance spokesman Andrew Wealls said: “Every year Labour propose cutting services for children and families with disabilities.

“We understand how challenging it can be for these families. In the past four years we’ve tried, and succeeded, to reverse Labour’s attack.”

Mr Janio also told The Argus the party is in no rush to seize control of the council in light of Labour’s Anne Meadows deciding to cross the floor and ex-council leader Warren Morgan quitting the party.

Although the Tories could technically seize control of the council now as they have a slender majority, the opposition leader said they prefer to wait.

He said: “It’s not about being an opportunist and taking advantage of a situation. To say ‘taking control’ is the wrong way to look at it because it’s not about power-grabbing. For us, it’s about doing the right thing and looking at ways to improve the city.

Councillors meet on Thursday to debate and vote on the 2019/20 budget.

Read more: Tory leader in Brighton say they are in no rush to seize control of the council

Fellow Tory Councillor, Robert Nemeth, who represents Wish ward, said: “Labour pledged in their last manifesto to end rough-sleeping in Brighton and Hove by 2020 yet the number of rough-sleepers in the city has quadrupled under their strategy.

"The release of misleading figures that are now under investigation is sadly what this Labour Administration will be remembered for.

"An alternative approach would see far greater grass-roots involvement and imaginative polices that actually get to the root of the problem.”

Mr Nemeth added how the party can improve the King Alfred Leisure Centre. He said: “It may well be that Hove’s largest ever single-site development scheme falls apart shortly which will be the greatest failure of this Labour Administration.

"If it does, millions of pounds will have been wasted and Hove will still be without a new leisure centre.

"This could have been avoided if the deal had been structured differently. A deposit from the developer should have been taken and penalties put in place for lack of progress.”