CHRISTMAS lights in Southampton could be cancelled again, Tory council leaders have revealed.

The festive display was scrapped last year because councillors said that the lights were past their best and the cost of replacing them wouldn’t represent good value for money.

They claimed that the city’s “world class” shopping, rather than fairy lights, would be what attracted visitors at Christmas.

Council leaders feel that businesses should pay for the lights, but that possibility now seems remote after proposals for a Business Improvement District (BID) in the city were defeated.

A similar scheme – which sees businesses paying a surcharge on their rates for extra services such as private security guards, graffiti removal or Christmas lights – in Winchester paid for radically improved lighting this year.

Opposition councillors demanded assurances that the authority would make sure that the lights were brought back now the BID plan has been rejected.

Techniques Cabinet member for economic development Councillor Royston Smith said: “When marketing somewhere you can use all sorts of techniques, one of which at Christmas might be Christmas lights.

“It’s right and proper businesses should make a contribution for things that benefit their businesses, especially at Christmas.”

Yet asked to guarantee Christmas lights, he would only pledge: “We will do what we can to bring about a good Christmas offer that everybody can be proud of.”

Previously lights have illuminated the shopping precinct and surrounding areas, with an eight metres high tree perched on top of the city’s Bargate monument.