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Member of Parliament for Bradford East@DavidWardMP on Twitter and Facebook |
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David Ward MP <>
Lib Dems warn of a return of Pickles' "Rambo-style rampaging" over Bradford
November 26, 2010 12:00 AM
Lib Dems in Bradford have questioned Eric Pickles about the need to "front load" Bradford Council cuts.
Leading Lib Dem Councillor, Jeanette Sunderland said:
"Eric Pickles' unreasonable demand for nearly half of Bradford's savings to be delivered in the first year will inevitably hit local services. No other area of Government is having to cut this quickly.
"All four political groups on the Council are working together to find Bradford's share of the cuts. There are some difficult decisions to be taken but I am confident we can deliver everything that is asked of us over four years.
"However savings on this scale need to be carefully planned if front-line services are to be protected. What concerns me is that the severity of the reductions in the first year will lead to bad government which ends up costing us more in the long term."
David Ward, Lib Dem Member of Parliament for Bradford East, remembers the chaos and devastation caused by Eric Pickles in Bradford in the 1980's before he left to live in the South of England:
"His attacks on services were vicious and driven through the Council on the casting vote of the Lord Mayor. It took years for Bradford to get over the chaos and left a weakened set of services which took years to rebuild.
"There is no doubt that Bradford Council can deliver its share of the reductions required to deal with the massive burden of debt the country faces but it needs to be reasoned and delivered in agreement not in haste."
We cannot afford to have more of Pickles' Rambo-style rampaging across Bradford."