The Conservative Group on Brighton and Hove Council has opted for fewer councillors than the scheme recommended for consultation by the Labour administration and, unlike theirs, our proposals for electoral areas closely follow the guidelines of the Boundary Commission.
Our proposals will save more than £250,000 a year in councillors' allowances over the present set-up. We have checked our scheme by walking the area and have used up to date, detailed figures.
The Conservative group is concerned the scheme prepared by council officers and supported by Labour varied by the day according to, we believe, the whims of the Labour leadership.
Because of the new council structure being forced on councils by the Government, power will be in the hands of an elected mayor or a cabinet of nine and there will be less need for so many councillors.
At present there are 78 councillors. Our scheme would reduce this to 54 councillors with 16 wards, each with three councillors and three wards each with two councillors (to maintain community links).
The proposals supported by the Labour administration are for 64 councillors, whereas the commission guidelines for Brighton and Hove are 30 to 60 councillors.
Also, according to the Boundary Commission, the number of electors in each ward should be equal. In our scheme they are, but in the Labour scheme there are large variations.
At the same time, we have kept communities together and used existing and natural boundaries wherever possible.
For example, Woodingdean remains together as one ward, rather than being split, and Patcham remains a natural community.
We will be consulting people as best we can. Unlike the Labour councillors we do not have the advantage of the council newspaper or public libraries to advertise our scheme. After consultation, we will submit our scheme directly to the Boundary Commission.
Comments can be sent to: the Conservative offices, 73 High Street, Brighton or 12 Portland Road, Hove. The plans can be inspected by telephoning either of these offices first, on 01273 571199 or 735833.
-Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, Conservative leader, Brighton and Hove Council
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