Government is ‘shifting the burden’ of cuts to struggling families

The Labour party has accused the government of ‘attempting to shift the burden’ of local government cuts onto struggling families.

Responding to warnings of council tax rises, Andrew Gwynne, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said that council finances were at breaking point and would not be stabilised by the minimal settlements and policy tools currently being offered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Gwynne said: “Almost eight years of cuts have devastated our local government services, and instead of providing new money, central government is attempting to shift the burden onto struggling families. The government must provide genuinely new money to fund our public services. Labour in power will always stand up for working people. That’s why we need to see as many Labour councillors as possible elected to stand up for our local communities next May.”