Andy Burnham was accused last night of ‘committing daylight robbery on Middle England’ by allegedly taking cash from Conservative-run rural councils while boosting funding for Labour town halls in urban areas.
uncertain
Burnham → accuse → areas
But Mr Burnham also came under attack from the Liberal Democrats who said their own rural councils were unfairly losing out too.
asserted
councils → come → Democrats
The row follows reports that government-controlled grants and funding to Labour-run town halls will soar by £1.6 billion over the five-year period of this Parliament.
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grants → follow → Parliament
In contrast, funding for Tory and Lib Dem-dominated councils was set to fall by £487 million over the same five-year period according to an analysis in the Daily Telegraph.
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funding → dominate → Telegraph
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch reacted yesterday by accusing Labour of waging a ‘spiteful class war’ and said she was prepared to challenge the cuts in court.
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she → react → court
She added: ‘A Labour Government taking money away from Conservative-run councils to hand it to their own is like financial gerrymandering.
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Government → add → gerrymandering
‘And it’s ordinary people who will pay the price in higher council tax and worse services, through no fault of their own.’
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who → ’ → own
Last night, Tory MP Katie Lam, the party’s Shadow Local Government Secretary, said: ‘This has nothing to do with fairness.
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This → say → fairness
The Prime Minister and Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner faced claims of ‘rewarding failure’ amid protests that Tory-led local authorities were more efficient than their Labour counterparts
‘It's about Labour shifting resources away from Conservative-led councils and towards its own political heartlands.
uncertain
Labour → face → heartlands
‘Inflicting higher taxes, service cuts, and endless regulations on people in an effort to score political points is wrong on every level.’
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Inflicting → inflict → level
And Greg Stafford, Tory MP for Farnham and Bordon, said that Surrey county council was set to lose £50 million in funding over just one 12-month period.
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council → say → period
He told the Mail on Sunday: ‘Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner are committing daylight robbery on Middle England.
‘They are taking cash from well-run, Conservative councils in rural areas and cynically diverting it to inefficient town halls run by their Labour cronies in urban areas.
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They → tell → areas
‘This isn’t taking money from the rich to give to the poor – it’s just rewarding failure in badly-run Labour councils.’
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it → take → councils
Lib Dem rural affairs spokesperson Sarah Dyke MP said: ‘Stripping half a billion pounds from rural communities to prop up Labour’s urban heartlands isn’t fair funding.’
asserted
Stripping → say → heartlands
She called on Ministers to scrap ‘this short-sighted raid and fund the real cost of rural services
‘
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She → call → services
Rural councils deserve a system that reflects the real cost of providing services in every corner of the country, from longer journeys to scarcer providers.’
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that → deserve → providers
And councillor Millie Earl, Lib Dem leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council, said: ‘Every council leader knows local government finances are on the brink everywhere.
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finances → say → brink
‘But starving coastal and rural areas like ours just to plug deficits in metropolitan boroughs is reckless and deeply unfair.’
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starving → starve → boroughs
However, last night, Ms Rayner’s department defended the funding arrangements.
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department → defend → arrangements
A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: ‘We’re fixing an outdated funding system so funding goes where need is greatest.
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need → say → system
‘As a result, nine in 10 councils will receive funding that broadly matches their need, up from only a third before our reforms, so they can deliver the high-quality public services local people need.
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people → receive → services
The Aporia
