Boy, oh boy, are the feathers ruffled at Brighton Labour Party HQ.

Over recent days there has been a succession of letters that without doubt show how worried the Labour Party is.

The latest one, from Lis Telcs (Letters, March 19), is yet further evidence that Labour are on the run and hopefully will soon be out of office.

Contrast that to a Conservative Party that is full of confidence with professional career women, people from ethnic minorities and the public services all being selected for key target seats, not just those with huge majorities to overturn - a truly modern party, fit to represent everyone in the 21st Century.

From now until polling day, my colleagues and I will ensure that the people of Brighton and Hove are aware of the Conservative Party economic policy. It is certainly nothing like the one Ms Telcs claims it to be.

Government spending needs to be brought under control. That doesn't mean spending needs to be cut but it does mean that overall Government spending must increase less quickly than the economy grows and less quickly than it has been increasing under Labour.

The Conservatives have shown how this can be done while safeguarding significant increases in spending on the NHS and on schools and linking the basic state pension to earnings.

That requires savings to be made in other areas. It means the Government must spend less on running itself, which is why Conservatives plan not to hire new civil servants to replace those who leave.

And it means tough choices elsewhere, which is why Conservatives plan for the total amount spent by Government departments on things other than the NHS and schools to be frozen for two years and increased only in line with inflation thereafter.

Michael Howard has asked David James, a successful "company doctor", to identify a range of specific savings in these areas.

Independent experts have warned there will be a black hole of £10 billion in the nation's finances at the time of the next election.

Following the latest budget, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that a future Labour Chancellor would have to raise tax levies.

So, the choice for voters in Brighton and Hove is clear - more tax rises under Labour or a Conservative government that would avoid those tax rises by being more careful with people's money.

-Steve Storey, Brighton