Manchester City Council has now received its financial settlement and it will take a long time for the dust to settle. The future is looking decidedly bleak. We knew the Conservative-led Government was going to implement a programme of drastic cuts, but nothing had prepared us for the depth, severity and speed of the assault.
Manchester is fortunate to have an exemplary Labour leadership team whose members have been preparing to resist. However, they will be stretched and severely tested in their efforts to cope with what is being thrown at us.
Their policies show what contempt the Conservatives and their Liberal Democrat allies have for ordinary people. The financial settlements for urban cities such as Manchester are in no way fair, reasonable or justifiable. They do reveal the true nature of the coalition’s fundamental belief system. David Cameron and his cronies are making the British people pay for a financial crisis they did not cause.
But the Government cannot conceal the fact that the VAT increase, massive cuts, higher university tuition fees, changes to life-long tenancies and caps on benefits will impact not only on the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. They will also adversely affect the vast majority of ordinary working people and their families.
When Manchester City Council’s budget is cut by 25 per cent while financial settlements in rural Tory heartlands are raised by millions, it is clear that the interests of the many are being sacrificed for the benefit of the few. Private education is exempt from VAT. Yet less than 7 per cent of the population is educated in the private schooling system. George Osborne cannot make up a new system of adding and subtracting, try though he might.
Labour’s elected representatives are not immune from the toxic fallout of the cuts and all that is associated with them. But we will not echo the hollow words of the Prime Minister – a millionaire in a Cabinet of millionaires. Clearly, we are not all in this together.
In places such as Manchester, we will stand shoulder to shoulder with the people in our communities. Navel-gazing will be no use and is not an option.
The tightening of belts and purse strings may produce leaner and more focused councillors. But losing sight of what we went into politics for will have devastating effects on future generations. Balanced local budgets adjusted to the current economic climate while providing opportunities for growth, investment and the retention of experienced and talented staff must be sought. This is a time for cool heads to lay out the alternatives to those on offer from the Thatcherite hot heads in the Government.
The malevolent actions of coalition ministers are tantamount to a declaration of war on the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. The rationale behind this is an ideology which is fundamentally at odds with British traditions of compassion, tolerance and meaningful help for those in need. The British heritage is one of looking after our neighbours and giving back to society. The actions of this Government risk tearing apart the social fabric of this country.
When a single mother has to decide whether to feed her electricity meter or her children, notions of community and civic duty are hardly likely be relevant to her. Yet such stark choices as will become the reality for increasing numbers of our citizens.
These initial cuts are the first strikes in the ideological battle. The coalition will strive to break down its enemy. No one should be surprised that Manchester City Council – a flagship Labour local authority which enjoys a reputation as a very effective and efficient one – has received such a deplorably meagre settlement.
Labour’s responsibility to the people of the city is to fight back at each and every stage. Over the past 13 years, Manchester has become economically and socially stronger and healthier. The task of unwavering, creative leadership to is to defend these gains and seek to build on them while doing everything that can be done to protect the weakest and poorest.
In Manchester, we know how tough things are and how much tougher they are going to get. But we are confident that the sheer determination, pride and sense of responsibility of the people of this city will see us through to the inevitable implosion of the Tory-Lib Dem coalition. And we will use the power of the ballot box to defeat it.
Amina Lone is a Labour member of Manchester City Council
