John Harris’s articles are often rooted in his conversations with and observations of parts of the electorate whose voices are rarely heard, and give a unique insight into the impact of national policy decisions on local communities.
The examples of destruction and despair from 14 years of Conservative government are well catalogued, but his visit to Thurrock revealed how much the savage cuts to local authority budgets have stripped bare the provision of every local service, from bin collections to essential care for older and vulnerable people (We pay a lot more for a lot less, and people know it. That’s why Sunak’s Tories were thrashed in these elections, 5 May).
The anguish and suffering of people in Thurrock is replicated across the country. Over the past 14 years, my own local authority, Derbyshire county council, has had its budget slashed in real terms by £780m and is now proposing to further reduce children’s centres from 56 in 2018 to 12 in 2024, and to close a further 11 residential homes and eight day centres for older people. Everyone knows who curated these years and years of austerity. Everyone also knows that the only route to redress is to elect a Labour government.
But those who have suffered most know that just electing an overcautious Labour government is not enough. Only by implementing a comprehensive “tax and spend to invest” programme and beginning to move to a fairer and more equitable economy will the people of Thurrock and similar communities see an improvement in their day-to-day lives. Anything less will further diminish people’s faith in politics.
Peter Riddle
Wirksworth, Derbyshire
• I am familiar with the type of situation Thurrock finds itself in. I was born in Woking, where the council went bankrupt for similar reasons to Thurrock. It was also run by the Conservatives at the time (Liberal Democrat now). While one might say that some of this was aimed at empire building, the impetus for this type of thing was the savage cuts in grants to local authorities during the years of austerity, which many councils have suffered from. These ambitious plans might have provided some growth but, of course, then along came the pandemic and much of this activity (such as hotel building) collapsed, with huge losses and probably similar issues to Thurrock.
The fact remains that many local authorities’ finances are in a parlous state. While the Conservative party will talk of “profligate Labour councils”, this situation has beset councils of all hues and was primarily caused by lack of government support in what is, in effect, reducing the ability of local authorities to carry out even their statutory duties.
John Greenaway
Reading, Berkshire
• John Harris is exactly right. Complaints that Keir Starmer is not “exciting” enough, or has no big headline-grabbing plans are missing the point. The damaging effects of this 14-year nightmare are so profound and so serious that it will take a long period of hard slog to get Britain reconstructed, which is what is needed. We need a new prime minister who understands this and knows how to do it – as Keir Starmer does – and won’t waste time on showmanship, gimmicks or “bright ideas”. We’ve had enough of those.
Judith Fage
Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire
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