Tory cuts lead to holes in council finance

Responding to this week’s local government finance announcement, Ely and East Cambridgeshire Labour Party’s local government spokesperson, Elizabeth McWilliams, demanded a fair deal for Cambridgeshire.

“The chaos and incompetence at the heart of this Conservative Government is

causing real problems for families in Cambridgeshire. Our NHS is on its knees, crime

goes unpunished, and like all local authorities, our services are being put under

intolerable pressure by ministers refusal to accept reality. The result of this is a reduction in overall spending power, 42% in East Cambs and 19% in South Cambs respectively.

"Now, just days before councils set the most difficult budget in years, and many

months after the cross party LGA warned that soaring demand for social care and

temporary accommodation was posing an existential risk to council budgets, the

government has finally backtracked on its catastrophic Local Government Finance

Settlement for 2024/25 and announced some extra funding - but it’s just more

sticking plaster politics.

"Our area is still not getting a fair deal – not fair for those who rely on our services

and not fair in comparison to other parts of the country. This comes from a Prime

Minister who promised Tory activists he would take money away from areas in need

and give it to richer areas as a bribe to win their votes. 

"The bottom line is that this emergency hand-out is an admission of total failure from

an increasingly chaotic Conservative government that has sole responsibility for

pushing so many local councils to breaking point over the last 14 years.

"What we really need is a government that has a proper plan. Our country needs the

security and stability that only a new Labour government can deliver. The only real

solution is a General Election now."