• ON Monday, the Tory government will present its autumn Budget. Councils face their biggest funding cuts since 2010. And this is on top of councils like Camden having had their funding cut by more than 50 per cent, over £169million, since then.

In real terms this means Camden will have another £40million cut from government funding. But it’s not just numbers. These cuts will have a massive impact on people’s lives, both those who use the services and those who provide them.

Already there is a crisis in social care, meaning vulnerable people such as the elderly, “at-risk” children and the homeless are being left to fend for themselves.

Only a few months ago Northamptonshire council became technically insolvent and announced it would only carry out the legal minimum of services, would sell off the majority of its libraries, and that there would be huge job cuts.

The National Audit Office has said that there are another 15 councils that could go bust in the next few years and children’s services are at crisis point. Other councils have used one-off resources and reserves to plug these gaps but this cannot continue.

Here in Camden we have had years of job losses, wage restraint, and attacks on our working conditions as services are reduced. Our traffic warden members have had to go on strike for a decent wage. More and more our members are having to tell residents that they cannot have the support they need because Camden hasn’t got the money.

Yet this is the ninth richest country in the world and the third richest in Europe. So there’s plenty of money to fund our services. It’s just that the Tories would rather give it to their friends in tax breaks, and the like, while cutting benefits.

A few weeks ago headteachers from around the country had a mass lobby of the government about cuts to education. There’s no reason why council leaders can’t do the same and spearhead a campaign in the local community.

We want to support our members while campaigning alongside Georgia Gould and other councillors for more funding. We have a policy supporting “no-cuts budgets”. We believe that policy could unite councillors, the council workforce, and the community, in a campaign for more central funding.

The need for a serious campaign against the devastation the cuts would cause to our local community is never more urgent. And with a government in disarray on all issues the chance of that campaign winning is better now than at any time before.

LIZ WHEATLEY
Branch Secretary

BARRY WALDEN & PHOEBE WATKINS
Co-Chairs,
Camden Unison