We cannot let Labour off the hook on Council cuts

Just like all local authorities up and down the land, Sheffield is facing the biggest reduction in our budget for many years as a direct result of the reckless spending carried out by the previous Labour Government. Not quite the 'post Soviet meltdown' predicted by Sheffield's Labour MPs, but a reduction none the less.

Setting the budget has not been an easy process. Colleagues and I have been agonising over what to de-prioritise and what to protect, listening to what local people tell us they value the most whilst ensuring that the vulnerable in our community are protected.

I know that other many other councillors feel the same, so perhaps it is not surprising that some senior Liberal Democrat councillors agreed to sign the recent letter which appeared in these pages.

I have some sympathy with the sentiment. However, I fear that the only thing it will achieve is provide Labour with a useful distraction from their part in creating the mess our country is now collectively digging ourselves out of. I'm all for debate, discussion and even occasional dissent within the Liberal Democrat local government family. But not at the expense of letting the Labour Party off the hook.

Let us not forget that many of the budget reductions in some of our more deprived authorities are as a result of time-limited grants coming to an end. Ticking time bombs such as the 'Working Neighbourhoods Fund', for which no future funding had been identified by the previous Government. Ed Milliband himself listed this fund as one of the many things Labour would cut if re-elected. Nobody can pretend we would not be dealing with the same kind of issues if there had been a different result at the General Election.

We should also take the time to consider that some of the measures announced by Labour-run authorities are nothing short of playing politics with people's livelihoods and local services. It is no accident that Sheffield has avoided shutting libraries, public toilets and leisure centres whilst Labour run Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool have not. You only have to compare Sheffield's 270 job losses with the 1000's announced by the other big northern councils to see how brutal Labour politicians have been. They believe they have the political cover by shifting the blame onto the Coalition. It's our role to expose this argument and show there are better local alternatives.

Community politics is in the Liberal Democrat's DNA. In many ways we are the natural party of local government. Now we are in power at Westminster for the first time in a generation we have the opportunity to influence the reform of local government for the better. Achieving change for the better will be a long journey, potentially made even longer by the fact we are in Coalition. Staying focused and patient is the only way we will reach our goal. Turning our guns in on ourselves will only make the Labour Party and other non-reformists stronger.

Cllr Paul Scriven is the leader of Sheffield City Council