After the Leader of the Isle of Wight Council, Cllr Jonathan Bacon, and lead Labour Councillor Geoff Lumley attended Saturday’s Anti-Austerity Demonstration in London, a significant number of colleague Councillors on the Island have now joined them in signing up to the national ‘Councillors Against Austerity’ founding statement.
Joining Cllr Bacon and Cllr Lumley as signatories are Deputy Leader Cllr Steve Stubbings; Cllr Julia Baker-Smith; Cllr Paul Fuller; Cllr Phil Jordan and Cllr Ian Stephens, alongside Cllr Luisa Hillard, Cllr Rodney Downer; Cllr Ivor Warlow and Cllr Alan Hollands.
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.”
