If people want to know what a Cameron government will look like, take a look at Nottinghamshire

By Alan Rhodes

Some weeks ago at our full council meeting, just hours after the proposed Tory budget for Nottinghamshire had been leaked, I described their plans for Nottinghamshire as “kicking the vulnerable” and nothing that has been presented since has changed my position on that.

To freeze council tax that will benefit some of the wealthiest residents in Nottinghamshire, they are cutting the very services on which the elderly and vulnerable depend. It’s Robin Hood in reverse.

There’s no getting around the fact that costs do have to be reduced; we addressed that in our own budget earlier this year. However, the stark contrast between the two sets of cutbacks could not be more obvious.

Whereas we had validated reductions based, for example, on better work practices or reductions in services where uptake had been diminishing (the low-impact/high-saving approach), the Conservatives have taken the opposite view and have really gone for the throat, in the most unnecessary manner.

The main victims of their plans will be the elderly and disabled, no matter how they try and dress up their scheme. The costs of meals on wheels and transport to daycare services will be virtually doubling, and there will now be charges for daycare provision whereas before there were none.

And it’s a cruel irony that whatever meagre savings would have been made by service users from the proposed council tax freeze will be, by and large, swallowed up a hundredfold by these very costs.

The Labour group, our supporters and local campaigners have been contacted by service users and their families who are saying, “Look, however we try to do the sums, this just won’t be affordable anymore. What are we supposed to do?”

Despite making strong representations on their behalf, the Conservatives simply don’t want to know; they’ve made their plans and they’ll stick to them, regardless of the impact on people.

It’s quite telling that none of them are willing to travel to meet the users of the Dial-a-Ride service (which will be cancelled) to justify their position. One of our local colleges in Ollerton, in which we invested heavily in order to provide a focal point for community services, is having that funding withdrawn. Will they meet with community representatives there? Not a chance.

While they claim mandate from the public, it’s clear that their successes have been principally based on the fallout from the expenses fiasco which created apathy amongst our local Labour vote. If they’re so sure of this mandate, then what have they got to fear from addressing the very people who’ll be affected by their decisions?

Their attitude was well reflected by the Conservative leader, Kay Cutts, when I recently appeared with her on the Politics Show. Although full of platitudes, when presented with a case study of an elderly lady who’d be priced out of service provision, it was all she could do to shrug, and suggest that the lady contact the welfare support line, which is also being cut!

This is the problem – a complete lack of caring and understanding. This could be the reflection of an administration who’ve never actually experienced, or will experience, the day-to-day issues that our service users have to deal with. It’s a case of people being told what’s best for them, a painfully naïve and parochial approach.

While neighbouring Tory authorities have been keeping tight-lipped about their plans, the incumbents here in Nottinghamshire have made no secret of what they want to do. Their plans form the clear evidence that should be presented to any outside observer as to what the motives of the Conservative party truly are.

These cuts serve to prove that they haven’t changed; it’s still the same old Tories. If people really want to know what a Cameron government will look like, take a look at Nottinghamshire County Council.

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