Hague swoops in to say how he sees it

The Tory leader flew in by helicopter to Roedean and his three-car motorcade, complete with security, spin doctors and Ffion, had only the seafront to negotiate.

Speaking to the Argus as he put the finishing touches to his speech he said Labour had overseen the biggest increase in the price of petrol the country had ever seen and car use had risen by ten per cent.

Tory plans to cut 6p a litre from fuel tax has been condemned by transport and environment groups, who say it will do nothing to ease congestion or tackle climate change.

He said: "The idea that ever greater increases in the price of fuel protect the environment I think is now out of date."

Environmental improvements would be achieved through improved technology, such as cleaner car engines, rather than "pricing people off the roads".

He said: "Places that rely heavily on tourism need people to be able to travel around the country, to be able to get near to Brighton, or into Brighton, and therefore it is very important for places like this."

Arriving by road is one thing, arriving by rail another.

The Conservatives privatised the railways in the first place, Labour is sticking with it, while the Lib Dems propose re-nationalising Railtrack.

Below-inflation fare increases and higher standards via the franchising system are about as far as Mr Hague goes - "Now we have to make sure the new system of the railways works in the interests of the consumer, there is no going back, we have to make this work."

If commuters despair about the state of the railways, in the Tory shires Mr Hague's promise to scrap housebuilding targets and allow councils to declare their own greenbelts will get a listening ear.

Thousands of homes are planned for East and West Sussex during the next 20 years, many of them on greenfield sites, sparking outrage in many places.

Mr Hague rejects accusations of muddle or vote-catching nimbyism. "Local councils should be able to decide what housing development there is, what type it is.

"The imposition of national housebuilding targets on the rest of the country from London I think now is out of date."

In Brighton and Hove, without too many greenfields of its own, the problem is finding enough low cost homes - there will be an estimated shortfall in the city of 27,000 low cost homes in five years.

Mr Hague does not go much further than say a Conservative government would ensure more low cost homes were built and, mirroring his last comments, giving councils the right to decide what is built and where.

If you have a house in Brighton and Hove chances are there are travellers parked somewhere nearby. The Conservatives promise a tough line, moving travellers on if they are a nuisance and, in some cases, stopping benefits.

Mr Hague is adamant his party's policies would not infringe on the rights of travellers. "It is making sure that other people have got rights, it is making sure that travellers are subject to the same rules as everybody else, that is the objective of it."

The Conservatives are on tricky ground with minorities. Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy said Tory policy on asylum - characterised by the creation of detention camps for refugees arriving in the country - was "mad, bad and dangerous".

Mr Hague said: "It is the policy that the vast majority of people in this country would like to see which is to make sure we are a safe haven and not a soft touch.

"The genuine asylum seekers should be welcomed into this country, should be given housing, health care and education. What people are very angry about is the abuse of the system."

With him as we talk are Brighton and Hove's three Tory candidates, David Gold, Geoffrey Theobald and Jenny Langston.

David Gold, the openly gay Pavilion hopeful, is in favour of abolishing Section 28, a litmus issue for the gay community.

Mr Hague and the rest of his party are not in favour of abolition, and he said: "I am in favour of keeping Section 28, David is entirely entitled to have his view and will be able to vote that way."

May 30, 2001