By David Cameron says he wants to tackle poverty. But it’s what you do that is the real test. Time and time again Cameron’s Councils – where the Conservatives are in power and making the decisions – reveal the real agenda. And we know it’s their real agenda because Cameron has repeatedly said that Conservative Councils are the blueprint for a Tory government.
Take what I found last week in Bury. I was invited to Bury Housing Concern (BHC) to meet staff and rough sleepers who use the centre. One man told me the help he received has saved his life. BHC has had funding since 1998 but, this year, Bury Council, which the Conservatives which took control of in 2008, is axing the £75,000 grant.
It’s easy for David Cameron to talk about supporting the voluntary sector. It’s easy for him to say big government is the problem and big society the solution. It’s easy to talk about tackling poverty in the abstract. But when you see the Tories in action you see the Conservative Party is unchanged.
Let’s just look at some of those areas, the choices they are making and the decisions they are taking:
Homelessness
It’s not just Bury, it’s other Conservative Councils like Hammersmith & Fulham that are showing their real intention and closing homeless hostels.
Poorer pensioners
They are hiking up charges for pensioners for local services like meals-on-wheels.
Family support
They are trying to close family centres which give much needed support.
Young people
They are choosing to axe youth clubs and playschemes which give support to families.
Help and advice
It’s Conservative Councils that are slashing money to debt advice services when they are needed most.
Further decisions on these issues taken by Tory councils around the country can be found here.
Threat to recovery, threat to jobs
But there is something more fundamental. David Cameron claims he wants to tackle poverty but he is opposed to the fiscal stimulus and the Labour Government’s support for families and jobs. His plan is to let the recession take its course with higher unemployment and lower growth. And his team are working with councils to block further plans to help.
You have Caroline Spelman, Cameron’s Local Government Shadow, writing to all Tory Councils and urging them to cut the financial ground from under builders by delaying house building and commercial and business developments.
This shows a willingness to damage the country’s growth for perceived narrow and local party populist advantage; it’s an agenda not about tackling poverty and not about getting the housing and jobs we need.
So damaging are the Tory plans that the Housebuilders’ Federation says they would cause “a hiatus in planning for housing”, while the CEO of Taylor Wimpey says the Tories’ housing plans are “as scary as hell”.
And on the new apprenticeships being created by public money delivering new housing – Grant Shapps, called those “ridiculous” and “counter-productive”.
A world for the wealthy few
These are further examples in which Cameron’s Councils are already creating a world for the wealthy, or trying to:
* The ‘Budget airline‘ Barnet Council is forcing its residents to pay twice – once in council tax and once again for a good service – with the result that only the wealthiest can afford local services.
* The leadership of Tory Bromley Council looked at using taxes paid by hard working families to prop up the private education of children of wealthier parents.
* The Leader of flagship Tory Wandsworth Council has urged other Tory councils to “increase charges as far as possible beyond inflation” (which would hit the poorest the hardest) and says they should use a “trial and error approach” to see what residents will bear.
If David Cameron really wants to tackle poverty then let him disown his Councils who have shown us what the future would be like if we let the Tories win. We know he won’t, as the actions of Tory Councils shows the instincts of the Conservative Party. They haven’t changed; the difference is that the actions of Tory Councils are David Cameron’s blueprint for Government.
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