Northumberland Conservatives have hit back after Scott Dickinson, the Labour parliamentary candidate for Berwick, criticised them over comments made about Northumberland receiving a fair deal under the proposed local government finance deal which will see the County lose 1% (£2.9m) of its budget, the lowest reduction in the region.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Conservative parliamentary candidate recently said; “The fact is at one per cent the proposed funding reduction for Northumberland is the smallest reduction in the region. It compares to that of Newcastle City Council which will see a 4.9 per cent reduction.“After years of being left to the very bottom of funding for council services and for local schools by successive Labour governments, local Conservatives have been calling for a better deal for our county and that rebalancing is now starting to happen. We are seeing a major boost for our roads and our schools.”However, Scott Dickinson criticised the Conservatives for saying that this constituted a "fair deal" and accused them of making a "gaffe".
The Leader of Northumberland Conservatives, Peter Jackson responded; "This really is desperate stuff from the, increasingly crisis-hit, Labour administration, residents will be getting sick of them constantly crying wolf. Financial literacy does not seem to be their strongest suit but I would have hoped that, even they, would have appreciated that at 1% the budget reduction for Northumberland was significantly less than the national average and less than anywhere else in the region. We have fought for, and the Government has delivered, a better deal for Northumberland.
The questions remain; will Labour break a habit of a lifetime and actually manage public money sensibly, identify savings to be made by reducing waste and inefficiency, abandon expensive 'white elephant'; projects such as the £40m County Hall move to Ashington and give a fair deal to local council taxpayers?".