‘Many councils are on their knees. More cuts to fund defence would be a mistake’

Perhaps one of the most overused quotes in politics is the famous line from Prime Minister Harold MacMillan when asked about the greatest challenge for any statesman: “Events, dear boy, events”. In 2025, this remains as true as ever.

As the talks in Europe and Saudi Arabia continue over the war in Ukraine, the Prime Minister has pledged, rightly in the eyes of the public, to continue to hold steadfast in his support for Ukraine and to strengthen the UK’s role as a potential peacemaker and bridge between Europe and the USA.

With this, and in light of his comments about upping our defence spending, come a series of difficult political choices and reflection on where this government’s priorities lie.

Speculation has been building about increasing our defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, up from 2.3%. While in isolation, this may not appear a huge jump, in the context of tightening departmental budgets, this leaves the government with politically challenging decisions to make in terms of cuts elsewhere ahead of the Spending Review later this year.

The Prime Minister’s leadership on the world stage has been commendable and brings back memories of Gordon Brown’s decisive leadership in coordinating the global response to the 2009 economic crisis. We all want him to succeed, and he has our full support in doing so.

However, we should not lose sight of the wider challenges that the government faces, and increased spending on defence will inevitably lead to painful decisions on spending elsewhere, with some reports over recent days that local government could be in the firing line.

‘A mistake we cannot afford to make’

YouGov polling shows that only 30% of Britons would support tax increases to raise money for defence spending, and with the Reform Party hot on the heels of Labour in much of the country, including areas like mine in Barnsley, it seems the direction of travel is further cuts to already starved government departments to help balance the Budget.

This, in my view, would be a mistake and one which we cannot afford to make.

Elected on a promise of change, this Labour government pledged to achieve its growth commitment by increasing powers and investment for local government while also reforming a funding model that is simply not working for the poorest authorities and communities in our country.

In the last 15 years, the most deprived authorities across England experienced some of the biggest funding cuts. Blackpool – ranked the most deprived authority in the country – suffered real-term funding cuts of almost 24%, whilst Wokingham, ranked the least deprived authority in the country, received a real-term funding increase of 5%.

READ MORE: ‘Labour must mobilise the whole country around its missions – or risk failure’

Overall, SIGOMA authorities have experienced 23.3 % of cuts while at the same time, the pressure on local services has increased. For example, in 2011, across England, councils spent 14.8% of their core spending power on children’s social care. By 2022/23, this figure had increased to 25.7% and is expected to increase further.

Within the same timeframe, England’s core spending power on adult social care has increased from 33% to 38%. In England, the rate of children needing care has increased from 59 children per 10,000 in 2010 to 71 children per 10,000 in 2023. In SIGOMA councils, the figure is at 80.

As a result, many authorities have their hands tied, forced to make cuts from vital services such as Adult and Children Social Care, Homelessness and Special Educational Needs.

Many authorities are on their knees, with a growing number issuing Section 114 notices or applying for emergency financial assistance from the government.

We have been pleased with the government’s general direction of travel. In just a few months since taking office, several changes have already been implemented, changes that, for several years, SIGOMA has championed to fix the foundations of local government.

These measures include re-purposing funding streams to target areas with greater levels of need, introducing the £600m Recovery Grant set aside for the most deprived authorities and a 6% average increase in the 2025/26 settlement.

‘The value that Labour can make in power’

However, this is only the start of a number of key reforms that the government has yet to deliver, including a commitment to reform local government funding, which is absolutely critical to implementing a fairer system going forward.

The government has time, and it will inevitably take lots of it to undo much of the damage of successive Conservative governments, but only by delivering for communities like ours in Barnsley can this government really show the value that Labour can make in power.

Structural underfunding has contributed to poor transport links, increased housing need, a lack of investment in vital services and skills shortages across all fundamental sectors. All of which have affected the ability to generate growth and prosperity in local communities.

Local authorities are well placed to help the government achieve its missions, but they need the resources and funding to do so.

Given the importance of local authorities in supporting a mission-led government and providing essential services to the public, I would urge the government to continue enacting the long-term plan of reforming local government funding for a brighter future.

Any further real-terms cuts to local authority budgets will have a devastating impact on councils, the services they provide and the government’s ambitions.

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