This Government has utterly failed local government – Andrew Gwynne

Andrew Gwynne MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, responding to news today that Worcestershire County Council “buried” a report by independent experts which urged it to take “urgent” action over its finances, said:

"This Government has utterly failed local government, forcing many authorities to struggle to maintain basic services after cutting their funding to the bone.

“The National Audit Office and the IFS are calling for a change in direction, one of the Government’s own councils has gone bankrupt, and now with this mess happening in the Secretary of State’s own Council – how much longer can Sajid Javid ignore this crisis?

“Almost eight years of Tory austerity clearly isn't working. It didn’t work for Northamptonshire, and it's not working for Worcestershire. We need to elect as many Labour councillors as possible on 3 May to stand up to the Conservatives’ cuts.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

• ·         The full story uncovered by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism can be found here: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2018-04-16/worcestershire-buried-report-raising-urgent-concern-over-finances