THE Government could take away vital funds from a Labour council while giving more to Conservative authorities, a report has claimed.

Labour-run Brighton and Hove City Council could lose £2.8 million in funding after 2021 while Tory-held West Sussex County Council stands to gain an extra £21.3 million, analysis by the Local Government Association estimated.

The Government’s “fair funding review” of council funding formulas also could see an extra £6.3 million of funding for Conservative-run East Sussex County Council at the expense of other authorities.

West Sussex County Council Labour group leader Michael Jones said Government money would be “funnelled into Tory shires” if the analysis was correct.

“West Sussex County Council certainly needs the money but there’s nothing fair about taking that away from councils that need it more,” he said.

“They’ve been hit financially far harder than the shire counties like West Sussex or even East Sussex.

“In my opinion nobody should be surprised if the Government gets back into power and channels resources into core Tory areas. There’s nothing fair about that.

“I can see Brighton council leader Nancy Platts feeling incredibly frustrated that West Sussex has gone through a whole run of not running services properly and still more extra money.”

Cllr Jones worried council tax payers would have to foot the bill if Government funding decreased.

“A lack of funding means councils may have no choice but to hike up council taxes again,” he said.

“So the Government would be forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for services.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said it “strongly opposes” further cuts to funding.

“The Local Government Association estimates the loss for our council would be an additional £2.79 million based on the current spend in adult social care, one of the biggest pressures on our budget,” he said.

“This is extremely concerning to us at a time when we have already seen more than £100 million of Government funding withdrawn in the last decade.

“We do not yet know the outcome of the wider review, which covers more than adult social care funding and whether this will have a negative impact on our city.”

A spokeswoman for the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government said: “These figures are based on a number of assumptions.

“Funding allocations should be fair and based on the best available evidence.

“Councils should continue to use official Government data for their financial planning.”