Cllr Geoff Lumley shares this latest news. Ed
After the Leader of the Isle of Wight Council, Cllr Jonathan Bacon, and lead Labour Cllr Geoff Lumley attended Saturday’s massive Anti-Austerity Demonstration in London, a significant number of colleague IW Councillors have now joined them in signing up to the national ‘Councillors Against Austerity’ founding statement.
Reverse cuts to council funding
The statement reads,
“As Councillors we believe this Tory Government’s ideological opposition to public services lies behind the deliberate underfunding of Local Authorities.
“Councils have faced unprecedented cuts. Local Authority grants in England have been slashed, with £12.5 billion of cuts and half a million Council workers losing their jobs since 2010. First the Coalition and now the Tory Government has forced through 40% cuts to Council budgets meaning that local authorities face the reality of cutting frontline services including Adult Social Care and Children’s Services, leaving those that rely on them at risk.
“We believe that austerity is a political choice. We oppose all cuts from Westminster and believe the Tory Government’s plans for Local Government will only make a bad situation worse.
“We call on the Government to reverse cuts to council funding so we are able to provide the essential services our communities rely on. Furthermore we call for an end to austerity that is seeing living standards for the majority fall.”
Others who have signed up
Joining Cllr Bacon and Cllr Lumley as signatories are – Deputy Leader Cllr Steve Stubbings, other Executive members Cllrs Julia Baker-Smith, Paul Fuller, Phil Jordan and Ian Stephens, other IW Independent Group members Cllr Luisa Hillard, Rodney Downer and Ivor Warlow, and Labour’s Cllr Alan Hollands (Eleven in total).
