Your say / Politics
‘Rees needs to show leadership over cuts’
I am shocked and saddened by the news that the council is to cut up to one thousand jobs; shocked at the speed and number of job-losses and saddened by what feels like the never-ending downward spiral of a council being constantly dismembered by government ideology.
It is particularly hard, of course, for those who face losing their job – but also to all of us involved in the council, and all of us who use its services.
Of course, as with everything in Bristol’s local politics, there is the spin element. Labour are taking the line of trying to push blame onto their predecessors.
is needed now More than ever
I could spend time putting a counter argument, but frankly it would serve no purpose. The cuts come from a central government diktat. The rest is about who cuts what, where and when. But they don’t go away.
Bristol City Council has now been making cuts for six years. Actually, most services have survived pretty much – if not intact – with a small diminution. But now it looks like there is no more fat to cut, no more low hanging fruit, no easy options left.
So what do we do about it?
Well, now is surely the time for mayor Marvin Rees to show leadership.
Britain’s biggest cities are pretty much all Labour-controlled. He should contact them and work with them to put up a coordinated opposition to the flawed austerity ideology.
He should go to our new prime minister and say “enough”. If austerity is over, then let it be over for local government. The cuts affect not just local services, but the local economy as well.
He should also go to businesses, the voluntary sector, unions, even the Tories and ask for support in making representations to government to make the case for Bristol. The poorest will be hurt most from these cuts. It’s time to stop.
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