LGA Labour chief: More councils risk collapse amid ‘austerity 2.0’

The leader of the Local Government Association Labour group has declared that Labour councils are “providing a shield” for residents amid “austerity part two”, but warned that financial pressures could see local authorities “tip over”.

In an exclusive interview with LabourList, Nesil Caliskan – who serves as leader of Enfield council in north London – argued that this week’s autumn statement “nowhere near” addressed the pressures facing local government.

Caliskan warned that council finances nationally are in a “real dire position”, highlighting recent research from the LGA that estimated that local authorities in England are facing a funding gap of £4bn over the next two years.

“These are local authorities that are not bad. Some of them are not badly run or haven’t made bad decisions. But because of the chronic underfunding and also the additional pressures around key services… they just find themselves in a really unsustainable financial position,” she told LabourList.

Accusing the Tory government of having created a “cost-of-living crisis for councils” by “crashing the economy” last year, Caliskan described the situation facing local authorities as “austerity part two”.

She said: “For a long time, we have articulated the attack on local government, the attack on community services and how hard the decisions are that councils have had to make. And we’re having to do it again, but for different reasons, because of the crashing of the economy.”

“I just don’t think Conservatives, certainly nationally, in national government, value local government… They just don’t see the value of local government. They don’t believe that residents should be supported in the way that councils support them,” the council leader added.

She argued that the autumn statement had not addressed the estimated £4bn gap facing councils and warned that, if the situation was not addressed, there may be a “number of local authorities” that “tip over” of “all political parties”.

Caliskan said Labour councillors and Labour-run local authorities “are providing a shield for our residents”, telling LabourList: “Politics at every level is about choices, particularly when times are really difficult. And over and over again, we see examples of Labour councillors making the right choices for their communities.”

“I always say, however difficult things are, even if the Tories are in power nationally, we must always fight so that Labour councillors are elected. Because for many communities who’ve lost hope because of a national Conservative government who’s abandoned them, their only hope is a strong Labour voice locally,” she said.

LabourList’s full interview with LGA Labour group leader Nesil Caliskan will be published next week.