AUSTERITY: Is it over? What Bolton's leaders say

She told the conference in Birmingham that "after a decade of austerity, people need to know that their hard work has paid off".

During her 65 minute speech she acknowledged the squeeze on families and the public sector pay freezes.

Mrs May also promised there would be "no return to the uncontrolled borrowing of the past" and that everyone's "hard work has paid off".

The Prime Minister's speech was met with applause but away from the party conference and far from Number 10, how did her remarks go down?

AUSTERITY: May thinks it's all over but not in our town

The Bolton News spoke to a range of elected representatives and public interest groups to see whether or not they felt austerity is really over.

 

Cllr Linda Thomas, Labour, council leader

“We don’t need to talk politics when arguing austerity. The facts speak for themselves.

“The most basic services we expect in return for the tax we all pay in have become victims of the cuts in austerity Britain. By 2020 we will have had £155 million cut for vital services for the elderly, vulnerable and the young, for our roads, waste disposal, schools and more. This is money we all pay in which is being deliberately withheld and it’s tipping us over edge financially.

“I will be honest, the government are not listening to people in Bolton and they do not care.

“In austerity Britain, even our children feel the effects of austerity. There is unprecedented funding pressures and demand for adult and children’s social care. By the end of April 2019, Children’s Services — looking after the most vulnerable children across our towns in the borough — is forecast to be in the red by £5 million. Our provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities could be £6.5 to £7 million in the red too.

“Most council tax has to be spent on safeguarding children and caring for elderly.

"Austerity affects all of us and cuts badly affect universal services people value. Residents are rightly fed up with rising crime, potholes and cuts to their children's schools.

"The colossal £155 million being deliberately withheld would have funded pristine roads and more police. Last year in Bolton - which is largest area for policing outside Manchester city - they’re stretched. With policing cuts they’re operating with 30 per cent fewer staff than 5 years ago.

“Austerity is still the government’s agenda."

 

Dave Bagley, chief executive of Urban Outreach

"Before austerity we were maybe getting to grips with it and what austerity has meant is the good things that had started to embed in around some of the more complex issues like mental health and homelessness have lost traction and we have seen the fallout from that.

"Austerity has meant some people are in a worse situation but there were always people in a difficult situation. I read her speech.

"You hope don't you that when the Prime Minister or Parliament says something that you will see the writing on the wall and we will see.

"Bolton has yet to instigate it's final savings, that's something like £32 million, that's going to hurt, as has the other £100+ million.

"She says everybody has done their share of the hard work. I don't think everybody has had to do hard work. I think there's been hard work by a few.

"I travel to the south east and they didn't even know there was a recession. I think for us in the north west and in the north east we may have felt the hard work a little bit more.

"I don't think we we're all in it together. I don't think the big society was quite real.

"There has to be a silver lining because quite honestly people can't keep going on."

 

Martin Challender, spokesman for UNISON

"No I don't believe her. Libraries have closed, youth services gone, refuse cut, roads full of potholes, colleges have seen funding cut by 30 per cent. Even college principles are protesting.

"Public sector workers have seen pay freezes and despite all the promises of the big society the voluntary sector has seen big cuts to its funding as well.

"Unless the government are going to redress the cuts we are going to be suffering the effects for decades.

"Council funding has been cut by over £100 million in Bolton, those services that are affected are a result of those cuts. Cuts to public health — when it was transferred under David Cameron from the NHS to local government, there were lots of promises about developing it and making it stronger and more community based. More and more of those services are being affected."

Sir David Crausby, Labour, MP Bolton North East

"Austerity is not over until it's over. The supermarkets would say when it's gone it's gone and it's not gone. I will believe it when I see it. It's done a huge amount of damage, it doesn't matter who you talk to, the police, health service or council, they will all say it's made difficult by being spread across services.

"Police cuts are bad enough but they are made worse by the council being cut back. It has a cumulative effect.

"It's a long way from being over. It need a huge amount of investment into towns like Bolton to put right the damage that's been done."

 

Yasmin Qureshi, Labour, MP Bolton South East

"Austerity is not over for the people of Bolton. Every day, I receive more and more requests for help from constituents who are struggling as a direct result of the government’s cuts, such working families forced to turn to foodbanks because they simply cannot make ends meet - two thirds of children living in poverty are from working families.

“Bolton's local services are at breaking point and the Chancellor must provide some relief for overstretched local authorities as a matter of urgency.”

Chris Green, Conservative, MP Bolton West

"There have been difficult years of challenging budgets for different sectors of government, local and national.

"I personally believe there should be more money going to policing – I get so many constituents questioning law and order with me – the way to resolve funding problems is to grow the economy and it’s encouraging to see unemployment has gone down and wage growth is significantly above inflation.

"I think what the Prime Minister is recognising is the economic success and direction of travel as we have more people in work and wage growth we will have tax receipts and therefore we can make sure that money is shared out to services that we all depend on."

 

Tom Hanley, TUC

“We regard the statement by Theresa May as a statement of almost defeat. We find it hard to believe anyone, any ordinary person thinks austerity is over.

"Rumsworth and Halliwell wards have child poverty rates of 50 per cent and across the borough we have 23,405 children living in poverty. In 2018 we have that number of children in poverty is extraordinary and that’s not changed.

"I think we should be remembering people have suffered 40 per cent cuts in local authority funding since 2010. By 2020 the plan is nor central government funding meaning we will be dependent on taxes and business rates."

Andy Burnham, Labour, Mayor of Greater Manchester

""A decade after the financial crash, people need to know that the austerity it led to is over,” said Theresa May at the Conservative Party Conference earlier this month. Unless the Prime Minister’s actions match her words, statements such as these are the kind that give politicians a bad name.

"Westminster has, for nearly 10 years, overseen cuts to public services, capping and then slashing people’s benefits and freezing public sector pay. And the knock-on effects are felt far away from the leafy Tory shires in the South – areas such as our Greater Manchester city-region have been among the hardest hit.

"What does Mrs May think happens when the public witnesses drastic cuts to their local services? Or sees their public transport creaking under the strain of delayed and underfunded infrastructure improvements?

"People in Greater Manchester continue to experience a worrying growth in NHS waiting times, a paring back of essential community services and a chaotic mess on our railways. And they witness our emergency services sustaining cuts to the front line, such as our police losing 2,000 officers and 1,000 staff since 2010.

"The Northern Powerhouse is a promise made by Theresa May’s government to the public. It’s a promise she needs to keep. Give us the powers and the funding to truly make it work; it is the best opportunity we have to make Greater Manchester the best place in the country to grow up, get on and grow old."

Cllr David Greenhalgh, Conservative group leader

"No one, from whatever political party, goes into politics to make cuts, and local government has been disproportionately affected, and we are not out of the woods completely yet, but we must never forget the reason why austerity came about.

"Labour had borrowed so much, that we were paying more in interest on that debt in one day that the whole of the education budget. Labour took us into the red in 2001, massively overspent, and since that time, this country has paid £520billion in debt interest alone.

"Conservatives in Government have once again had to put the finances of this country in order, and tough decisions have had to be made, and the Prime Minister's speech signalled the turn around in the economy under the Conservatives, and a more secure future ahead, when a time where clearing the massive debt left behind by Labour is no longer the priority."

Phil Hart, chairman of Bolton Learning Alliance

"We are aware of schools having to make an eight per cent saving since 2010 in real terms.

"That's a result of unfunded pay awards, national insurance increases and pension contributions. It means school budgets are incredibly tight. 76 to 86 per cent is on staffing, that has a potential to impact on staffing.

"Across the board schools are having to cut back — fewer TAs in our schools at a time and a risk group sizes may increase.

"The other aspect of this is with the changes in the system schools are having to buy in services. Like educational psychology services, support services.

"I think the government needs to look at the concerns that are being raised about the misuse of stats around school funding.

"The statement there's more funding available may be true but not in the way she's saying.

"There's more pupils so the per student funding has increased and other things schools are expected to pay for are not being funded.

"I'll wait an see, she's got other priorities at this time, the reality is sometimes a distance apart."

Cllr Paul Sanders, Farnworth & Kearsley First

"The pulling of funding from local authorities has had a devastating effect on finances and subsequently the lives of many across the country.

"We feel that our areas have been particularly hard hit with services simply removed from our towns and shifted to Bolton.

"It can only be hoped that Theresa May reinstates some of the funding cuts and they head to areas that have borne the brunt of these cuts — namely Farnworth and Kearsley."

Cllr Sean Hornby, UKIP group leader

"I don't believe for one minute it's over. We have people using foodbanks, we have a local authority that has suffered hundreds of millions of pounds of cuts.

"There are people in my ward that will not have noticed any difference. She's playing on words. She knows she's in a lot of trouble and she knows the situation because the public have no confidence in her whatsoever.

"We have got a situation where the benefits system has been slashed. Last week in the council we talked about universal credit and online applications and unless you are prepared to go online you can't get the benefits.

"I don't believe her for a minute. This is a Conservative government that's created more savage cuts than Margaret Thatcher ever did."

Hugh Caffrey, secretary Keep Our NHS Public (Greater Manchester)

"No I don’t believe austerity is over.

"The consequences continue on our NHS and they are clear in the current strike at Royal Bolton Hospital where a section of workers are paid less than the NHS rate.

"The NHS continues to face a massive funding squeeze. The Prime Minister promising the end of austerity and promising a few more pounds to the NHS ­— that changes very little.

"Austerity has not ended in the NHS and won’t until it’s returned to public ownership and funded on the basis that it meets the needs of the people that rely on it."