Carol Ramsden's plea (Letters, January 17) for more people to vote Conservative

at the next local elections because when they were in charge 20 years ago they kept the town tidy is one I'm sure we will hear again and again over the next 18 months.

Conservatives are elected on promises of lower taxes and better services but then charge more and make cuts to education and social services.

We pay more in council tax under Tory-run East Sussex County Council than residents of Brighton and Hove pay under Labour. Labour has regenerated areas such as the seafront and St James Street, bringing in new businesses and jobs. The Tories are against actively creating the employment our area needs.

Estates such as Whitehawk and Moulsecoomb, left to rot under the Tories, have benefited hugely from Labour's New Deal for Communities.

Labour has freed traffic flow in the city by enforcing parking laws, while the Tories favour a car-driving free-for-all. The Tories approved the sale of the Goldstone ground and oppose a new stadium for the Albion, Labour has campaigned for a new ground for the whole community.

Let's have less name-calling and abuse from the Tories on these pages and more facts and debate about what is really going on - and what would be lost if the Tories win next year.

-J Couture, Peacehaven