Stockport Liberal Democrats

Stockport Council is facing unprecedented financial pressures in the face of a perfect storm of energy price rises, the impact of Brexit on care service staffing, the continuing effects of the Covid pandemic and a lack of additional support from central government.

Speaking ahead of the Local Government Settlement, the annual decision on how much funding each council will get from Westminster, Cllr Malcolm Allan, Cabinet Member with responsibility for the budget, said: “The pressures we face as a council are extraordinary. One very simple example is street lighting. Despite years of investment in low energy systems, our street lighting alone is costing us £2.5m a year more now compared to a year ago. This is just one very stark example among many.

“There are no easy answers. Westminster repeatedly ignores local government’s demands for better funding and, instead, the Conservative government seem to demand cuts to services and higher council taxes. Fortunately Stockport Council has a track record of strong financial management but, as we go into 2023, we will have to make some really difficult decisions to ensure we balance the books again for next year.”

Stockport Liberal Democrats have again made clear their opposition to building houses on Green Belt.

After a pause at the end of summer because of central government uncertainty over housing targets, work has continued to develop a draft Local Plan which delivers better outcomes for Stockport than those presented by the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) – including more housing on previously developed (or ‘brownfield’) sites whilst seeking to protect Green Belt.

An eight-week public consultation will be launched on the 23rd January to give residents the opportunity to have their say and inform the design of the final Local Plan, which councillors will vote on in the summer.

Ahead of that consultation, all groups will receive confidential briefings this week (containing commercially sensitive information) about the approach the council is taking to continued uncertainty over government housing targets. The draft plan will be published before Christmas and will be examined in detail at a special Scrutiny Committee in the new year. After hearing the views of the Scrutiny Committee, the Council Cabinet will formally decide on the way forward.

Speaking today, Cllr Mark Hunter, Leader of the Council and of the Liberal Democrats at Stockport Town Hall, said: “The launch of the consultation is the next major milestone towards developing the right plan for Stockport. This is in the face of continued confusion from the Conservative government, who will not come off the fence and tell us whether their top-down targets are mandatory or whether we can act to protect our Green Belt for future generations.

“We all agree on the need to build the right homes in the right places, but that must not be a license to concrete over the Green Belt. The Liberal Democrats will continue to fight to protect our Green Belt. It’s part of what makes Stockport the special place it is.”

Cllr Colin MacAlister, Cabinet Member for Economy and Regeneration, added: “Since the scale of Green Belt release required under GMSF to meet the government targets became clear back in the autumn of 2016, the Liberal Democrats have consistently argued that we should develop our own plan and tell government what housing Stockport needs and where, not the other way around. The approach we are going to take is novel but we hope will give us the maximum flexibility, whatever the government finally decide to do.

“Councillors in other political groups will be briefed this week ahead of the formal publication of papers before Christmas. I am sure they can be relied upon to respect the confidentiality of those early briefings and avoid any further delay that leaking inaccurate information might cause.”

Speaking ahead of Small Business Saturday, Cllr Colin MacAlister, Cabinet Member for Economy and Regeneration, said: “On Saturday 3rd December, we promote our local independent businesses in Stockport at Small Business Saturday.

“It is essential that we all continue to support small local businesses throughout the
borough, as they have faced a series of unprecedented challenges over the last few years including Brexit, Covid-19 and the rising cost of energy, causing many independent businesses to close and others to really struggle.

“Our message is simple, shop local this Christmas and throughout the year!”

Cllr Grace Baynham, Cabinet Member with responsibilities including parking, added: “Stockport Council are providing free parking in all council-owned car parks in the District Centres’ on the four Saturdays in December leading up to Christmas, including Small Business Saturday.

“This is part of our plan to further invest in our district centres and to encourage everyone to get out and support local independent businesses across the borough.”

After detailed assessment of the Autumn Statement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer last Thursday, more bad news has been revealed for Stockport residents and the Council as it struggles to balance the budget and protect public services. Town Hall Chief’s already knew they had a very difficult and challenging task this year, but it has just been made even more difficult by deliberate decisions of central government not to help protect essential local services.

Instead, the Chancellor has indicated even more money will have to be raised by increasing council tax and asking local people to pay more for less.

Leader of the Council and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Cllr Mark Hunter, said: “The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement was very disappointing news indeed. We had hoped that central government would help local people as we all grapple with the cost-of-living crisis, but – not a bit of it. After crashing the economy due to their own incompetence, it now seems the Conservatives want to blame anybody but themselves and expect local residents to foot the bill for their mistakes in government. It beggars’ belief they think they can get away with it!”

Cllr Malcolm Allan, Cabinet member for Finance & Resources, added: “Although no final decisions have yet been made and details are still being worked through, it’s already clear that this Statement was tougher than we’d hoped and has no good news for local authorities and the services we provide. In particular, the Government grant takes no account of the last two years inflation. As Liberal Democrats, we want to protect front line services and give value for money but the approach of this Conservative Government means we now have difficult and challenging decisions that will force us to look carefully at our ambition not to raise council tax.”

Speaking ahead of White Ribbon Day 2022 this Friday 25th November, Cllr Helen Foster-Grime, Liberal Democrat Cabinet Member with responsibilities including equality and diversity, said: “The focus of the vital all year round White Ribbon campaign is to ensure men and boys themselves promise to take responsibility for calling out abuse, harassment and aggressive behaviour towards women.

“This year White Ribbon Day falls at the beginning of the FIFA men’s World Cup, and sadly data shows that domestic abuse rates increase by 38% when England lose a match. We need to start playing as one team on this, lads, and urge everyone not to stay silent to keep women and girls safe! It’s our game too!”

Mark Hunter, the Leader of Stockport Council, has today called out the Conservative Autumn Statement as “a massive kick in the teeth” as the Chancellor announced cuts to Council budgets this afternoon.

Cllr Hunter, who will make an announcement on the Government’s proposals at a meeting of the Full Council, has now said that areas such as Stockport, Cheadle, Hazel Grove and Reddish have been left behind by the Conservatives.

In his Autumn Statement, the Conservative Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt announced:

• Exactly how this government’s mistakes have harmed our economy, with higher inflation and higher interest rates and that we are in a recession;

• Ordinary workers will pay more in taxes as tax allowances are frozen until 2028;

• Most households will pay more for their energy as government support is reduced;

• Drivers of electric vehicles will be made subject to road tax; and

• A council tax bombshell, with increases of up to 5% to pay for social care services.

Proposals by the Government to allow councils to raise more revenue through Council Tax rises have been heavily criticised.

The Liberal Democrats have said this is nothing more than the Tories asking Stockport to do more with less, meaning even more financial burden could be placed on the shoulders of local residents during the Cost of Living Crisis.

Cllr Hunter said, “If anyone was in any doubt that Prime Minister Sunak and Chancellor Hunt did not have their best interests at heart, then today was the confirmation they needed.

“These extra costs will make the cost of living crisis even more challenging. The Conservatives have no understanding of the hardships people are facing.

“Let’s not forget, the Conservative Government caused the mortgage market crash. They have been in power for years and we have nothing to show for it, except a crashed economy, a cost of living crisis and energy prices that only the super-rich can comfortably afford.”

Cllr Tom Morrison, Parliamentary Spokesperson for Cheadle added, “These extra costs to Stockport’s residents will be remembered. At a time when energy companies are clocking record profits, to hit our residents with these costs at a time when budgets are already stretched is heartless.

“The Conservatives have again shown themselves to be out of touch.”