Filth is making many people flee the city for smaller and more pleasant towns nearby, Tory councillor Brian Oxley has claimed.

The newly-elected opposition leader on Brighton and Hove Council told Conservative activists: "More and more people are not voting at the ballot box but are instead voting with their feet and leaving Brighton and Hove.

"The filth, the taxes and the problems nobody ever seems to solve are forcing people to look for a more pleasant environment in towns nearby."

Coun Oxley added: "We don't have to live this way. Conservative councils up and down the country are already tackling vandalism, wasteful spending and have clean and tidy streets as well. We can do it here.

"I urge people, whether they are Conservative supporters or not, not to move out but to help the Conservatives move Labour out.

"This is not about party politics in the traditional sense - this is about arresting decline."