Liverpool Mayor says he'll refuse cuts

Submitted by AWL on 12 February, 2020 - 11:15 Author: Jane Edwards
No more council cuts

Liverpool's Labour mayor Joe Anderson has said “I will refuse to make any further cuts to our budget because we are now at the stage where doing so will mean closing down vital services.”

He added: "This means we are entering a crisis point in the city's history and it will put us on a collision course with the government but we aren't prepared to play their games any more.

"I will say this now - I will not close any libraries or children's centres in this city, I will not set a budget that cuts any of these vital services".

The Tories have already cut £436 million from Liverpool’s funding since 2010. This year the council is looking to make £30 million worth of cuts from front-line services.

In the plans they have recently released for consultation the council are planning to balance the books through cutting services, increasing income, and reducing demand.

It assumes a council tax rise of 3.99%. Other plans include:

• reduce residential care places for children, £2 million
• reduce number of teenagers coming into services, £1million
• supported living transformation £2.5 million
• cut public health grant by £1.4 million
• means test adult social care £1million
• £11 million increase in fees for home care providers and residential homes.

Fortunately for Joe Anderson, libraries and children's centres aren't on the list.

Liverpool Against the Cuts has just begun campaigning against this year's council cuts and will be appealing to Labour councillors to oppose them too. Until Anderson's statement, the response has been the usual - it's the Tories' fault and there's nothing we can do.

Maybe Joe Anderson is changing his mind and deciding that now Labour councillors should support those fighting against the cuts; or maybe there's a reselection process for Mayor about to start.

Either way anti-cuts campaigners should ask him to speak at meetings and rallies building opposition to the latest round of cuts in local services.

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