Poorest areas hit hardest by council cuts, damning Labour analysis shows
2 min read
The poorest areas in the country have been hardest hit by the “savage” spending cuts imposed by the Conservatives, Labour will claim today.
Party chairman Ian Lavery will say local governments across the country have been “hollowed out” as he launches the Labour local elections campaign in Stoke.
But Conservative chair Brandon Lewis shot back: “Labour councils cost you more and deliver worse local services.”
Voters in around 270 local authorities in England and Northern Ireland will head to the polls on 2 May to elect councillors who were voted in four years ago.
With just over a month to go before polling day, Labour revealed figures showing council cuts since 2010 have hit the North of England, especially the most deprived areas, the hardest.
The poorest areas are on course to see falls of 28% per household on average between 2010/11 and 2019/20, compared to 19% for better off parts of the country, the analysis showed.
It means Tory councils will see an average fall in spending power per household of £120, while the equivalent cut for Labour councils is four times higher at £539.
Mr Lavery is expected to say today: “Local government and the vital public services they provide have been hollowed out by savage Tory cuts that have hit the poorest hardest.
“Decades of neglect combined with nine years of austerity has led to rising crime, high street decline and the loss of key services.
“The Tories’ cuts to schools, the police and services such as social care, homelessness prevention and children’s services are putting family prosperity and Britain’s future at risk.”
He will add: “Labour will rebuild our country with investment in services and communities so they can thrive once again, instead of more of the same failed austerity and cuts with the Tories.”
'PROVEN RECORD'
The Conservatives said Tory councils in England were charging £116 a year less for a band D home than Labour-controlled councils.
They added that band D charges had risen by 109% on average in England under the last Labour government.
Mr Lewis said: “Up and down the country it’s Conservative councillors and councils who have a proven record of managing people’s money wisely and providing good local services.”
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