News / Politics
‘The Green Party’s budget proposals target Bristol’s worst-off’
Labour’s group leader at City Hall says that the proposed council budget cuts “would make Thatcher blush”.
Tom Renhard has warned that cuts to the libraries budget will likely mean permanent closures of libraries and has asked council bosses “to come clean” about which libraries they plan to shut.
Renhard, who unsuccessfully stood to be Labour’s candidate for metro mayor, said the proposals also “target Bristol’s worst-off”.
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The former cabinet member accused what he calls “the Green Party-Liberal Democrat coalition administration” of not sharing the plans with Labour councillors in good time, therefore giving he and his colleagues “limited knowledge of the proposals and… unable to significantly impact them”.
Renhard said: “The Green Party’s budget proposals target Bristol’s worst-off; there’s no two ways about it.
“Library closures, less funding for people in financial hardship and Bristol’s poorest paying hundreds more in council tax.
“The council faces budget pressures primarily due to in-year overspends – £21.4m on children’s services and out-of-area placements, £7.8m on adult social care and £3.5m on temporary accommodation.
“They have failed to get a grip of these spiralling costs and Bristolians will pay the price for it.
“A focus on raising revenue, investing capital to save revenue through measures like acquiring properties for use as temporary accommodation and children’s homes, and making the council more efficient internally would be a much fairer way to balance the books.”
M Shed will continue but Blaise Museum, the Georgian House and the Red Lodge could close under the current budget proposals – photo: Tom Renhard
The Labour Party won enough seats in 2024’s local elections for their councillors to be chairs of policy committees in Bristol’s new committee system; but they declined to take their allocation, although Labour councillors do have some vice-chair roles.
This means that Lib Dem councillors are chairs of some committees despite only having eight councillors at City Hall in comparison to Labour’s 21.
Renhard added: “The Greens said they would prioritise protecting the vulnerable; they’re taking away funding for crisis prevention and domestic abuse services.
“They said they’d protect the council tax reduction scheme; they’re cutting it.
“They said they’d ‘get the basics right’; they’re collecting your bins less regularly, closing your libraries and mothballing your museums.
“The Greens did say they’d take a new approach to the council and they are.
“Labour set balanced budgets for eight years, throughout Tory austerity.
“Those budgets protected frontline services and support for the most vulnerable, and made ends meet largely through cost-cutting and efficiencies savings within the council.
“Now, despite being given record sums of money from the Labour government, Green and Lib Dem leaders are putting forward a budget that would make Thatcher blush.
“They have questions to answer about the total absence of values and political leadership shown through these cuts in their budget.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
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