Since coming to power in 2010 the Tory-led Government in
Westminster has been cutting too far and too fast but the cuts themselves are
being felt in communities like Medway and across Kent.
The Local Government Association said councils suffered a
28% cut in the funding they get from central government between 2010/11 and
2014/15 but the difficult work of deciding which essential local services have
to be cut falls to individual councils.
Unfortunately, those central government cuts have hit some areas
harder than others with Cameron, Clegg and Osborne aiming the biggest cuts at
the most deprived communities instead of reflecting where resources are most needed.
Councils in urban cities and London boroughs with
high levels of deprivation, have seen their
budgets cut by almost 10 times the amount lost by mostly Tory-administered
authorities in Surrey and beyond
Here in Medway, we are losing £56 per person but David
Cameron’s local authority of West Oxfordshire is losing just £34.33 per person.
This pattern is repeated across the country, with members of the Tory-led
Government protecting their own communities whilst the more deprived areas are
left to fend for themselves and deal with much larger cuts to their budgets.
Councils such as Medway - who have suggested a tax rise today - are having to make really tough
decisions about which essential services to cut because Cameron’s Tory-led
Government has massively reduced the amount of funding local councils receive
from central government. As if that weren’t unfair enough, the Tories and their
Lib Dem allies are deliberately targeting the areas that can least afford these
enormous cuts and hitting them hardest.
It is sad though that our Medway Conservatives have not bothered to consult with residents and small business about the 2% tax rise proposed, and nor have they been honest about the gerrymandering of funding. Instead we have had briefing of select papers and no consulting with those most impacted about the priorities. The rise in Council Tax also does not take into account the Pickles Poll Tax rise which could see vulnerable people taxed upto 30% more in some areas like Medway from April next year.
Not so long ago the Government claimed “we’re all in this
together” but with each passing day this seems more and more like a bad joke. In
their determination to enforce a reckless cuts programme that goes too far and
too fast, the Tories have slashed local council budgets but instead of spreading
the load, they have deliberately targeted the communities that can least afford
it, and it’s areas like Medway and those most vulnerable within it, that are paying the price.
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I say it every year - Where does all the money go?
ReplyDeleteMy household is one of three households that pay council tax in a street of twenty houses.
A lot of my neighbours can afford the twice daily trips to the off licence and daily trips to their drug dealer. They can also afford the latest phones, designer clothes and the loudest sound systems available. I hate to agree with a tory but perhaps it is time that some more people are expected to pay some local tax.
Perhaps then we can reduce the ever-increasing bills that are presented to the disabled and elderly for daily care.
ReplyDeleteAnon; Ed Miliband has been clear that we need to target those at the bottom and the top so this is not a Tory idea to curb benefits; we all need to accept responsibility. Many in my own ward of Luton & Wayfield voted Labour because whilst they want benefit cuts they want it done fairly.
The largest benefit bill is actually pensioners and second largest is working people with part time jobs in some wards in Medway. Whilst there are of course people who are not being responsible - and they must be dealt with - the truth is the Tories have failed to secure work as well by failing on the economy and growth. The news about the failure of the Work Programme is a case in point; they privatised off getting people into work and no surprises the results have been woeful.
You need to ask yourself that at a time of economic uncertainty are the Tories standing up for you by giving millionaires a tax break? They are once again representing an elite class; the 'Carlton club' elites at the top; as they always have done. Do you really think they are going to strain every sinew to put taxes on those with the broadest shoulders. Do you really feel that we are all in this together or is the poorest and middle class areas suffering the most?