Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
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by Lib Dem team on 19 February, 2011
Nick Clegg came to Stockport yesterday (Friday) for a brief visit. He spoke to our councillors, MPs and Chief Exec about how Stockport’s making cuts compared to the Manchester approach.
In Stockport we’re not closing a single library, or even reducing their opening hours. Manchester are closing libraries left, right and centre.
In Stockport we’re cutting 285 posts (full time equivalents) – 9% of our workforce. In Manchester it’s 2000 – 17% of their workforce.
Manchester’s adult services budget is being slashed by 21%, Stockport’s is being trimmed by just 3%.
Manchester’s children’s services is being cut by 26%, Stockport’s by less than 8%.
Manchester is increasing charges across the board and making parking more expensive. Stockport has frozen charges (except a very few that were previously running at a loss) and has absorbed the VAT rise on parking.
Labour Manchester are choosing to make harsh cuts that hit frontline services and harm residents. Manchester has massive reserves – well over a hundred million pounds – which they’re choosing not to use.
Lib Dem Stockport is protecting frontline services by making backoffice savings wherever possible, making some one-off savings and achieving challenging corporate efficiencies.
Here’s the video (it’s only 19 seconds!)
8 Comments
By what percentage has each councils budget been slashed by?
Without knowing that then all those figures you have given above are meaningless.
Hi Philip,
As I understand it, Manchester has about 9% less to spend next year than this year, with Stockport being a little lower than that (because Manchester previously got a lot more grants than Stockport).
However, Manchester has also built up much bigger reserves than Stockport over the last few years, which suggests both that they were able to put aside money over the last few years and that they could use some of those reserves to mitigate against the cuts this time.
Manchester’s annual budget is a little over three times that of Stockport (and their population is about one-and-a-half times Stockport’s).
I don’t wish to defend Manchester but it has got a cut of 8.9% (the maximum allowed), Stockport’s is 2.77 so to say its “a little lower” is’nt very fair ( for full table see https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AonYZs4MzlZbdG9NQ0k5UUN1LVNYNm5DSjVKNDBuNGc&hl=en).
Basically I’m fed up with all the councils and their ridiculous and extravegant spending particularly on senior management and offices – Stockport is’nt as bad as Manchester but thats not saying very much (and take a look at Stockport’s new offices near the law courts – ultra high spec. with high ceilings – what a waste of council tax payers money).
iain,lets be clear on this, the Tories, with Lib Dem coercion are targeting the largest cuts on Labour controlled councils (fact) So its no surprise that Manchester is having to make bigger cuts. Please don’t employ central government rhetoric when most of us actually know whats going on in the wider world!
Frederick/Alan – the headline figures don’t tell the whole story and the pictures are more similar than they’d suggest.
For example, did you know that Stockport taxpayers are contributing £2 million this year and £3 million next year to Manchester?
Alan – that’s not quite true, is it? Take a look at councils like Sheffield, Birmingham and Newcastle – none of which are Labour controlled.
All the above illustrates the need to restrict the spread of AGMA and the policies in Stockport that it influences.
We don’t want the eccentric, arrogant City Council to have anything other than minimal power over our area.
Stockport has very little / nothing to offer anyone, there’s not much for shoppers, as none of the bigger brands / companies want to go there as they can’t get people to work there it costs too much to park, £30 a week (all in coins of course, no cards). So if you can’t get staff you can’t get customers.
There’s no tourism, a hat museum…
If a town wants to grow it needs to encourage business to set up there not just employ hundreds more traffic wardens.
Unfortunately for me I have to work here 3 days a week, I avoid it when I can.
Manchester may be charging more for things, but it has something to offer in return, you can’t charge if you have nothing to offer.
I’m originally from Liverpool which was Lib Dem at the time, and was run fine. It’s WHO is in charge that’s the problem, not their party.
Kevin – Stockport actually has an excellent employment record. We’ve created over a thousand new jobs in the last year and our employment rate is under 3% (the national average is about 8%) so we must be doing something right.
Stockport faces similar challenges to the other towns around Manchester (Altrincham, Bury, Wigan, Ashton, Bolton…) and there’s lots that can be improved, but there’s a good story to tell too.