Every day, our lives are made better, safer and happier by the places and services run by our local councils, and by the workers who keep them going.
Without everything our councils give us, our lives would be very different. The political decision, made in Westminster, to starve our services of cash for the last decade, has put everything at risk.
If something isn’t done urgently, the outcome will be catastrophic.
UNISON has produced a new film – watch as our local services crumble to dust in front of your eyes …
We will find ourselves walking at night in darkness, because there’s no money to keep street lighting on all night. There will be nowhere for young people to go, because even more youth centres will close and because the council’s money doesn’t stretch to maintain local parks.
Studying in libraries will be a thing of the past, when all the libraries have disappeared. Rubbish collections will get less and less frequent and, when the rubbish truck breaks down, the budget just won’t stretch to buy a new one.
There’ll be no one to look after our elderly relatives and vulnerable adults, or to help keep a family supported when there’s no money to pay for care workers and social workers.
Environmental health officers, housing officers, planning officers, enforcement officers, will become far fewer, with devastating consequences for local communities.
This community breakdown will spiral to local businesses too. When workers don’t have any wages to spend locally, our high streets suffer. And when our high streets suffer, councils don’t get business rates. It’s a vicious cycle with a depressing outlook.
Is this really the sort of community you want to live in? No. I didn’t think so. Tell your MP, today, to save our services by giving local government emergency funding now.
