Southwark Liberal Democrats launch campaign to tell Andy Burnham to stop the cuts
Southwark Liberal Democrats have launched a campaign to tell Andy Burnham to stop the £102 million cuts that Southwark Council is facing over the next three years.
The financial gap of £102 million comes from the Labour government's "Fair Funding" review of council finances. The stated aim is to redistribute government cash to poorer regions and towns – but the Liberal Democrats say that this should not come at the expense of London areas, which the funding changes will seriously impact.
The Southwark Liberal Democrat and Green Joint Administration uncovered that the previous Labour administration had under-stated the impact by around £20 million, and failed to prepare for the savings needed in order to pass an election budget.
This also comes as Southwark Council launches a borough-wide listening programme, asking residents what matters to them most in an effort to make the forthcoming difficult decisions with the communities they will most affect.
Commenting, Southwark Liberal Democrat Group Leader, and Southwark Council Deputy Leader, Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:
"We were among the first to ring the alarm bell about the Labour government's cuts to council funding when we were in opposition, and it's been astonishing to come into the Joint Administration and discover just how little the previous Labour administration had prepared.
We're now in a position where we have to make some very difficult decisions – but we know the best way to make those choices is with our residents and communities.
We also need as many people as possible to support our campaign to get the Labour government to stop the cuts – together we can make Labour listen."