Cuts could 'break up society', council leaders warn (high school, live)

[paull805]

The governments cuts could lead to "problems on our streets and the break up of civil society", three council leaders have said.

The leaders of Newcastle, Liverpool and Sheffield councils believe the cuts unfairly penalise northern UK relative to the South

They were "in danger of creating a deeply divided nation", they said in a letter

A government spokesman said funding for councils was "fair"

The letter was a response to the latest cuts to council budgets announced earlier this month in addition to the reductions of about 28% already forced on authorities

They believe northern UK cities have been hit harder by the governments austerity programme partly because of the withdrawal of support to deprived areas in place under the last government

"Rising crime, increasing community tension and more problems on our streets will contribute to the break up of civil society if we do not turn back,"



So do you agree??

City council leaders say deeper cuts will spark civil unrest | Society | The Observer

[Eoin (pronounced Owen)]

Good question, although I think it's really a matter of extent rather than a straight 'yes' or 'no'. The Local Authority cutbacks are a major constituent part of the Governments wider austerity measures. The sum total of these measures are going to fundamentally alter the way Britain operates as a country.

If you only look at one graph this year, look at this one:



These are the IMF's projections of Government spending over the upcoming few years. Here is an article in the Guardian discussing them: The graph that shows how far David Cameron wants to shrink the state | Aditya Chakrabortty | Comment is free | The Guardian

As part of the UK with a FPTP system, you and I have no control over this. As Eck pointed out, there are more giant panda's in Scotland than Tory MP's. Despite devolution and the fact that remarkably few Scots vote Conservative, we're going to be subjected to huge spending cuts which will go far beyond those being enacted by other world governments. This isn't a matter of 'austerity' because 'we have to', it's an ideological difference between social-democratic values and the values of right-wing supply-siders.

I'm from Lanark, but I went to High School in Wishaw. I got a front row seat of the long term social problems caused by the closures and huge job losses from Ravenscraig and Gartcosh. What the current Government are doing is even more severe than that. Only the privileged areas outside of the South East will escape a repeat.

I have sympathy for English/Welsh and Northern Irish people who feel the same way as I do, but I see no way out of this problem other than voting for independence and getting shot of the Tories for good.

Eoin