Gordon Brown turns fire on Tory Councils: Join the LabourList campaign!

From LabourList

Today’s speech from the Prime Minister to the New Local Government Network was an excellent one, particularly as it laid bare the differences between the government’s approach to localism and that of the Conservatives. The speech details a number of key developments affecting local authorities and enhancing their capacity to make a real difference to their respective areas; for example, Brown details the work Labour has done in setting up and maintaining Regional Development Agencies, thus positioning councils as drivers for growth in their respective areas, rather than simply as passive providers of services.

The Prime Minister also had some significant things to say about how local authorities could play their part in fighting the local effects of the world economic downturn. The issue of the slowing economy which has come to dominate politics took a prominent part in the speech. This has particular application in the arena of local government, because the essential dividing line between the two main parties has been carried over; Labour are relying on local authorities to bring forward infrastructure projects and giving them the funding to do so; in stark contrast, the Conservatives have plans to cap spending at the Department of Communities and Local Government to 1%, far below inflation, while freezing council tax for two years on the basis of funding from ‘advertising cuts’ (which has already been pledged elsewhere). The plans outlined by Gordon Brown in his speech, made in order to pull local communities away from the ravages of recession, are under direct threat at a local level from Tory authorities.

The reality is that this can only be funded by cuts in services such as transport, schools and police, which, as John Healey explained yesterday, are already becoming painfully evident in areas where the Tories have a local government foothold. A new ‘Tories under Scrutiny’ document released by the Labour Party gives a detailed description of what the exact Tory proposals are, and what their effects would be across a number of authorities.

Local councillors and activists are often able to point out instances of Tory slash and burn with well sourced figures and statistics. Theo Blackwell gave a fine example of this in his post yesterday, and went on to call for people who witness these cuts to make them well known, obvious and well researched. Of course, national government must be involved.

We all have a part to play in this, so LabourList is asking activists to support us in a campaign to increase awareness of Tory local cuts. Send your examples.