With a record national deficit run up by the last Labour Government it was to be expected that Local Authorities would have to share some of the burden of balancing the books. For Leeds that has meant a cut of £50million from central Government funding. Added to this the Labour Administration, through poor management has to raise a further £42million this year to cover escalating costs and their budget mismanagement.

Dan said, “I know from talking to Conservative Councillors that there are many budget areas which can be trimmed in order to re-focus funding where it matters. I was very pleased to see the alternative budget proposals put forward in February by the Conservative Group and was frankly stunned that the Labour Administration voted these down.”

“A more cynical person might say they are trying to make these cuts more painful than they need to be. Proving a point is one thing, but unnecessarily cutting services for some of the most vulnerable residents in the city strikes me as cruel.”

Proposed Conservative improvements included:

Saving the 3 leisure centres through cutting spending on office furniture, glossy brochures and stationery.

Saving the free city bus through dropping parking charges to increase usage and installing new meters.

Saving 20 libraries from closure by reducing unnecessary spending on IT equipment.

Scrapping a £1.8million website project to invest the money in road maintenance.

Dan commented, “It’s also bizarre that the Green Party who prop up the Labour Administration in Leeds should vote to stop a free city bus.”