Video: Labour and Conservative councillors give their views on the cuts
The deputy leader of the city council said cuts being made to local services are a political move by the conservative Government which will predominantly affect the elderly and disabled.
Nottingham City Council are increasing council tax by almost five per cent, as well as the price of funerals, in order to save £27m.
Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council Cllr Graham Chapman said: “Those are the people we want to protect but they’re the ones where most of the budget’s going, and if we don’t manage to balance the budget that’s a service that’s going to suffer.
“Of course I don’t agree with the cuts, I know we have to be prudent but what angers me is that there are councils down south that are not getting the cuts that we’re getting and there are councils which are Conservative controlled which are not getting the cuts.
“The Government’s being political and if you look at the councils that are getting the cuts they are all labour and they’re all amongst the poorest in the country, and if you look at the ones that are doing well most are Conservative and they’re in the richer areas of the UK.”
During the budget meeting, the Conservatives put forward the alternative of cutting street cleaning services instead of raising council tax.
However, Cllr Chapman was not keen on the option.
He added: “In many ways, we’re trying to push the city forward, in other ways we’re being dragged back and I’ve got to say we’re being dragged back by lack of investment in public services by central government.”
Cllr Georgina Culley, leader of the Conversative group at the city council said: “The Labour council feel they need to do them, they’re trying to upset the local electorate.
“They’re trying to make out the Government that are causing the cuts when it’s really the Nottingham City labour councillors who are implementing these cuts just to make people feel that it’s due to the Government.”
She added the group felt there were a number of things that could have been cut instead, including the removal of the labour councillor’s executive assistants, which only one other council has.
“It’s money for the boys, it’s trying to keep people in line, it’s not really trying to improve the service.
“It’s par for the course here, they like their little grubby mitts in people’s pockets here in Nottingham, they can’t get enough of it.”
