Corbyn urges Labour councils not to set illegal budgets

Jeremy Corbyn has written to all Labour council leaders calling on them to resist calls to set illegal no cuts budgets.

In the letter co-signed by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and Shadow Local Government Secretary Jon Trickett, Corbyn points out that failure to set balanced budgets could see “Tory minister deciding council spending priorities”, and warns that “their priorities would certainly not meet the needs of the communities that elected us”.

There have been some calls from Labour’s left for councils to reject cuts to local government spending, and for Labour councillors to refuse to vote through budget cuts – including in the past from the Labour Representation Committee, while John McDonnell served as chair. However, this letter makes clear that McDonnell does not support that view.

You can read the full letter here:

Council Illegal Budgets 2