The Tories have wrecked the economy, we’re all paying for it, but Labour is on your side.

This week the council set its budget. Despite 12 previous years of cuts and a pandemic, this will be the hardest budget we’ve had to set.

The damage done to our economy by the Conservative government, not just under the 45 days of chaos with Liz Truss, but 13 years of mismanagement and waste since 2010 has left our country worse off in almost every respect.

Have a think, is there anything significant that feels better now than 13 years ago?

Is it easier to get a GP appointment or an operation? Are taxes lower or fairer?

Are we building enough affordable housing?

Do our schools get what they need to help our children thrive? And around all of this, why are we paying more in council tax but getting less?

I will leave you to answer those questions and come to your own conclusions.

In local government, we have seen the sharpest of these cuts and some of the biggest increases in demand for our services.

This perfect storm was made worse when the Conservatives let inflation go out of control and blew up the economy with reckless tax cuts for the rich.

All of this meant massive hikes in the cost of running council services and no new long-term funding from the government.

In fact, the biggest chunk of new resources for councils was when the Conservatives increased the cap on Council Tax to five per cent.

So once again, we all pay more to make up for their shocking record of incompetence in government.

To contrast this abysmal performance, Labour is proposing bold new ideas to meet the challenges we face.

Ideas that are costed – funded by windfall taxes on the big oil and gas companies, as well as fairer taxes on large online retailers to relieve the burden on the high street – and ideas that shift more power to local communities.

Labour in government would introduce a Take Back Control Act, enshrining in law that power should be taken away from Westminster and Whitehall, and put in the hands of local people and their representatives.

This would help deliver better services and outcomes for people outside of the traditional centre of power.

And locally, your Labour council is showing we are on your side too.

Despite the challenges of the budget this year, we are still investing an extra £10m into road repairs and resurfacing, taking the total we have delivered to £30m.

We are proposing the biggest package of regeneration spending in the council’s history and we are prioritising those hit by the cost of living crisis with new funding available for those who are not currently eligible for support but find themselves struggling because of Tory incompetence with the economy.