THE leader of Warrington Borough Council has accused the last Labour government of going on a “trolley dash” in the run up to the General Election.
Coun Ian Marks says the problem is that in doing so, they left everyone else at the checkout on election night, to pay the bill.
In a message to council colleagues, Coun Marks (pictured) says the Coalition Government’s comprehensive spending review is tough on everyone – including the people of Warrington.
But he pointed out that even after the review, the size of the state sector would be as big as it was in 2006.
He said: “The problem is that since the General Election, the Coalition Government has had to borrow an extra £400 million every day. In this financial year that will come to a total of around £150 billion added to the national debt.
“Contrary to what you might expect from the national media, we are not paying off the national debt – just stopping adding to it. Labour did admit big cuts would be needed in the future, they just forgot to tell us what they would be.
“It’s about time Labour acknowledged its share of blame for the crisis. In the previous parliament Vince Cable repeatedly pointed to the dangers of whole scale bank deregulation, of the risks of an uncontrolled house price bubble and of the huge rise in domestic debt.
“He was ignored or ridiculed by Brown right up to the big crash. Labour said that casino banks and massive bonuses were all part of making Britain the financial capital of the world.
” The ‘trolley dash’ is over and we have to put the non essentials back on the shelf. We cannot afford them. Thank goodness our government is cutting out waste and bureaucracy and abandoning the foolish belief that Whitehall controls and targets were the cure-all.
“We are aiming for a fairer and freer society. I am very proud that 900,000 low paid workers will be taken out of income tax, that we have just announced a fairness premium for disadvantaged children and that we have restored the pensioners’ earnings link. At the Council we will have new freedoms to set priorities but there will be far less money to go round.
“We are up for the challenge – it has to be done and it’s going to be worth the pain.”
2 Comments
Looks like the IFS doesn’t agree with one of Maggie Thatcher’s shop assistants.
Whilst he claims that the spending cuts are fair the Institute of Fiscal Studies don’t and they have begun to unravel them and reveal that the poorest will be hit harder than the better off.
Perhaps the Leader of the Council can explain why he sanctioned £28m expenditure on agency and consultancy fees leaving a defecit of £30m. He cannot blame Labour for this.
It is his coalition government that is due to decimate local government for ever. Perhaps he will be man enough to stand up in front of all the workers of WBC and explain why he has allowed officers of the council to run amok and employ such expensive consultants leaving permanant employees positions at risk.
Will Mr Marks be very proud to make several thousand of staff redundant?
Just for the record members of the public did not vote for a coalition government either nationally or locally in Warrington.