#GIVEITBACK AND RETURN THE £110M CUT FROM BRIGHTON & HOVE CITY COUNCIL BUDGETS

Since the start of government imposed austerity 12 years ago, the council has lost £110m of central government funding while demand for services has soared. Over ten years of pay freezes our workers have lost an average of £4-8000 a year in pay, while house prices and rents have soared.

We need to keep our key workers and young families in the city for it to thrive, but we can’t do that if we can’t pay them properly. Across the country councils are struggling to retain workers - from social workers to care workers, teaching assistants and planners - thousands are leaving public service for better paid jobs in the private sector. This is a potential disaster for our councils and our services. Government needs to act now to avert a crisis, yet the autumn budget statement had nothing to offer local councils other than more stagnation and a greater council tax burden on already struggling residents.

As millions in the country are bracing themselves to have to choose between heating and eating and mass poverty is becoming normalised, councils across the country are going to have to choose between jobs or services. As our residents face one of the toughest winters in living memory, they must not again be expected to pay for mistakes they did not make. They need to know their local councils are getting the support they need from government, not watch them be slowly starved of cash and resources while the government pursues policies that make the rich richer.

It’s often the case that trade unions and employers disagree. It is also often the case that different political parties disagree. But these are extraordinary times, times where no-one in our city is free from the anxiety and pressures of the cost-of-living crisis. Times where it is essential that we focus on what unites us, and to work together to protect our vital public services and those that rely on them.

Brighton and Hove UNISON, the Green Administration and Labour Councillors at Brighton & Hove City Council are coming together in solidarity with other local trade unions, organisations, charities and businesses, to demand that central government properly fund local public services and public service workers. We are united in the need for well-funded public services and united in the need for a workforce that is decently paid.

Corinna Edwards-Colledge, Joint Branch Secretary, Brighton and Hove UNISON; Cllr Phelim Mac Cafferty, Leader, Brighton and Hove City Council and Green Group; Cllr John Allcock and Cllr Carmen Appich, Joint Leaders, Labour Group. Also supported by GMB Sussex Branch and Brighton & Hove NEU.