Andrew
Gwynne MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local
Government, speaking at the Labour Party’s Annual Conference in
Brighton, will say:
On the work of Labour councils, Andrew Gwynne will say:
“We know the difference Labour in local
government can make.
“In Bristol, Labour has pushed the social care crisis
into the spotlight – leading the call for city leaders to come together to
lobby central government over cuts.
“South Tyneside has developed a purpose-built facility
to support integrated health and care services, designed to support the needs
of those with varying stages of dementia.
“In London, Sadiq Khan, has called an end to Boris’s vanity
projects, instead prioritising the development of new affordable housing.
“In Greater Manchester and Merseyside, our Metro Mayors, Andy
Burnham and Steve Rotheram, understand that ‘a Northern Powerhouse’ is one
built by local people, and by investing in our communities – and not through
slogans alone.
“Labour in local government will continue to innovate to make a
real difference to people’s lives. But I also know the very difficult decisions
that councillors have had to make over the past seven years as this Tory
government sneakily attempts to devolve the blame for their cuts away from
Whitehall – to local councillors in Town Halls.”
On funding
for local government, Andrew Gwynne will say:
“Police cuts. Fire Service cuts. SureStart closures. The crisis in
social care. They all have the same root cause: a Tory dogmatic
vision of a smaller state.
“We cannot empower our communities if we impoverish them. That’s
why we have promised to put council funding on a sustainable footing. Councils
would be £1.5bn better off under a Labour Government next year.”
On empowering local communities, Andrew Gwynne will say:
“A generation of outsourcing and forced privatisation of public
services, has hollowed out the capacity of our councils to deliver for our
communities.
“Today I can announce Labour’s radical plan to renew faith in
local services and deliver a renaissance of local government.
“We will give councils greater powers to deliver services
themselves – because our services should be run for our local communities
alone.
“We’ll extend transparency and Freedom of Information rules, so
that communities know where their money is going.
“And we’ll end the two tier workforce with a “Fair Wage” clause.
“Taken together, this will be some of the largest set of reforms
to local government in modern times: empowering communities and rebuilding
local institutions and local services. Because they’re our public services –
and we should always put people first.”
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