GREEN councillors today (18 November) handed in a joint letter (1) to Number 10 Downing Street on behalf of all 168 Green councillors callling on the Conservative government to end the destructive cuts to local government.
Ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) the Green Party are calling for an end to the government’s ideologically-driven austerity programme.
Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader, Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, and Baroness Jones of Moulscomb, all attended the event.
Speaking before the hand-in, Bennett said:
“The Green Party calls on the Prime Minister to not make any further cuts to local authority spending in the Comprehensive Spending Review on 25th November.
“Green councillors up and down the country tell me on a daily basis how this government’s cuts are wrecking essential services and damaging communities.
“The Green Party is calling for a genuine review of economic policy in this Spending Review. Rather than Chancellor George Osborne continuing with his austerity agenda for the next three years, we must invest in people, in secure energy, and in vital welfare support.”
Caroline Lucas MP said:
“Proposed cuts to local authority grants will unleash further devastation to communities across Britain. In Brighton my constituents are facing the hollowing out of council services – included the proposed closure of up to five children’s centres.
“Enough is enough. The Government must rethink its callous and counterproductive austerity programme and give local authorities the resources they need to deliver service to the people they work for.”
Jenny Jones said:
“The government’s austerity agenda is derailing the provision of services for all of us, all over the UK. Local government cuts strike at many of the things we have come to rely on, such as litter collection and services for children and old people, but also the things which enrich and improve lives, including parks, leisure, sports, libraries and museums.
“The Prime Minister and his government must be made to acknowledge the damage they have already caused and we demand that rather than making it worse, they commit to repairing the damage they have done.”
Notes