,
6 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
Amid Brexit: "In a reflection of the austerity drive imposed on local authorities by Conservative-led governments during the past decade, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said spending on services in England had fallen by 21% between 2009-10 and 2017-18." theguardian.com/society/2019/m…
No wonder councils seem at breaking point - it's because they are. Many have already broken, slashing vital local services to the bone. This should be one of the biggest issues, constantly in the headlines. Instead, Brexit is giving this Tory fiscal butchery a free pass.
Nothing can change - if you pardon the expression - while Westminster is paralysed by Brexit. But that political paralysis will go on, and on, and on unless we call the whole mess off. Even the abrupt break of no-deal is the beginning of the Brexit story, not the end.
The battle to re-establish a functional relationship with the EU and rebuild our trading position is likely to occupy the bulk of political bandwidth for the next ten-twenty years.
That's the hidden but very real cost of Brexit, one that can't be measured in factory closures or job losses: the huge challenges facing the UK are permanently sidelined. Nothing can improve so long as Brexit lives.
So we can kill Brexit & focus our attention where it's desperately needed. Begin rebuilding everything that was lost, and fix Broken Britain. Or we can spin our wheels in the Brexit mud while councils slash local services closer to the bone.
Which world would you rather live in?
Which world would you rather live in?
