CUTS.........
Kris Hopkins, the Local Government Minister made the announcement this week as to how much he is taking away from Local Authorities, confirming that the total cuts over the life of this parliament ammount to aproxamatly 40%. What was surprising about his performance is how he kept a straight face.
The news was not all bad news, not everyone is having their spending power reduced, in fact whilst we are struggling to make ends meet, some authorities are to receive an increase.The lists should not come as a surprise as the distribution of government money, money that they collect from all the country in taxes, has, since the Libral/Democrats joined up in the unholy alliance with the Conservative Party, seen a constant shift, in everything they do to move money from the North to the South.
We in Kirklees are not in the worst place, that honour includes places such as Preston, Burnley, Pendle, Copeland and Chesterfield who are hit with a CUT of 6.4%. We along with such authorities as Wigan, Barnsley, and Rydale suffer a CUT of 2.5%
The biggest winner with a RISE of 3.2% is Tewksbury, Surrey GAINS 3.1%, Wokingham and West Sussex each GAIN 2.6%, Winsor GAIN 2.5% and Richmond on Thames GAIN 1.7%.
Not all of the North looses out though, North Yorkshire, where William Haigh lives GAINS 1.1% and Cheshire where George Osbourne GAINS 1.4%.
The full list of LOOSERS and WINNERS can be found on the BBC web site at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30537288
