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STOCKPORT LABOUR BACKS ‘BREAKING POINT’CAMPAIGN TO END AUSTERITY

Stockport Labour have given their backing to the ‘Breaking Point’ campaign to end the crisis in Council finances. The campaign highlights the £16bn in cuts wrought upon Local Government since 2010 – and warns more Councils may follow Northamptonshire into bankruptcy.

Labour Leader of Stockport Council, Cllr Alex Ganotis, has joined with Labour councillors from across the UK to call for a real end to austerity for local councils, signing up to the ‘breaking point’ petition. The Tory and Liberal Democrat Government’s cuts since 2010 mean councils have lost 60p out of every £1 that the last Labour Government was spending on local government in 2010. In Stockport, this means the Council has had to bridge a funding gap of over £100m since 2010.

Meanwhile, pressures on Local Authorities are increasing – last year, Councils were forced to spend an extra £800 million on vital services to protect children, and with an ageing population and growing demand adult social care faces a funding gap of £3.5 billion.

The ‘Breaking Point’ petition is the most-signed petition by Labour councillors ever – with over 5,000 Labour councillors calling on the Prime Minister and Chancellor to use the Budget to cancel a further planned £1.3bn cut to councils, and to provide an immediate cash injection to stop children’s services and adult social care from collapsing.

All Labour Councillors in Stockport Council have now signed up to the petition, which has been handed in to 10 Downing Street ahead of the Budget on 29th October.

Stockport Labour Leader, Cllr Alex Ganotis said:

“I have signed this petition not just for Stockport Council but for the many who rely on Council services in Stockport and around the Country.

“Local Authorities look after some of the most vulnerable in society, particularly in relation to Adult Social Care and Children’s Services. Demands in these areas are rising, yet Councils have had to deal with a larger share of cuts due to austerity than any other area of government since 2010.

“In Stockport, we are managing these cuts through reform and income generation – but there are limits to what can be achieved without impacting services. Consequently, Councils are being forced to pass some of the burden onto Council Tax payers.

“Not one Labour Councillor went into Local Government to manage cuts- we are here to improve the communities in the towns and cities in which we live.

“That’s why we are delivering a powerful message to the Prime Minister and Chancellor to let us get on with that task. In many areas Councils truly are reaching breaking point with worrying impacts upon children at risk, disabled adults, and vulnerable older people, not to mention the day to day services relied upon by residents.

“It is time to end austerity to the benefit of local economies, jobs, lives and services. For these reasons, I fully back the Breaking Point campaign. ”

Local MP for Reddish and Denton and Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, Andrew Gwynne MP is also backing the Campaign, and said:

“This is a fantastic campaign that has my total support. Labour councillors have come together in unprecedented numbers to send a clear warning to the Prime Minister and Chancellor that councils simply cannot take any more cuts. The next Labour Government will sustainably fund our councils and put an end to this crisis.”

 

ENDS

 

Editor’s Notes:

  1. The LGA Labour Group exists to provide a strong voice for Labour in local government. We represent and support Labour Groups in England and Wales and the Labour councillors within them. It is led by Cllr Nick Forbes, leader of the LGA Labour Group and leader of Newcastle City Council http://www.local.gov.uk/labour
  3. This is the most-signed petition of Labour councillors ever – with 5,137 signatures collected in less than two weeks (as of 9am Weds 17th October), equivalent to 85% of all current Labour councillors in England and Wales. It was organised by the Local Government Association (LGA) Labour Group, led by Cllr Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle Council.
  5. ‘Breaking Point’ petition wording:

‘Councils are at Breaking Point. Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond must:

– Use the Budget to reverse next years planned £1.3bn cut to council budgets;

– Invest £2bn in children’s services and £2bn in adult social care to stop these vital emergency services from collapsing;

– Pledge to use the Spending Review to restore council funding to 2010 levels over the next four years;’

  1. Visit the campaign website http://councilsatbreakingpoint.com
  3. The cross-party Local Government Association has warned that local councils face a new round of spending cuts of £1.3bn next year, with grants slashed by 36% in 2019/20 and 168 councils receiving no central funds from government at all. The LGA has also warned that councils now face a further funding gap of £7.8 billion by 2025 just to keep services ‘standing still.
  5. After almost a decade of Tory cuts to local government many councils are now facing a crisis in funding – Northamptonshire has already gone bust, and many others are now facing bankruptcy.
  • Tory cuts mean councils have lost 60p out of every £1 that the last Labour Government was spending on local government in 2010
  • Councils were forced to spend an extra £800m on vital services to protect children last year due to increased demand, despite overall council funding falling
  • With an aging population and growing demand adult social care faces a gap of £3.5 billion – with only 14% of council workers now confident that vulnerable local residents are safe and cared for
  • Government cuts have seen over 500 children’s centres and 475 libraries close, potholes are left unfilled, and 80% of councils workers now say have no confidence in the future of local services
  • Northamptonshire has already gone bust due to Tory incompetence at both national and local level, and more councils are predicted to collapse without immediate emergency funding
  • Councils now face a further funding gap of £7.8 billion by 2025 just to keep services ‘standing still’ and meeting additional demand. Even Lord Gary Porter, the Conservative Chair of the Local Government Association, has said ‘Councils can no longer be expected to run our vital local services on a shoestring’