Five Liverpool Labour councillors have confirmed they plan to vote against the ruling group's budget plans this week and potentially be kicked out of the party.
The ruling Labour group, led by Mayor Joanne Anderson, will bring their budget proposals to a vote in the town hall on Wednesday evening.
The council is aiming to save a further £25 million through measures such as a new £40 annual green bin charge, a maximum 2.99% Council Tax increase and cuts to adult social care.
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But as reported by the ECHO yesterday, a number of Labour councillors are unhappy with the budget plans and intend to vote against their own party - a move that could see them lose the Labour whip and forced to sit as independent councillors.
Warbreck Councillor Alan Gibbons was the first to announce his intention to break the whip - and now four other Labour members have confirmed via a statement that they will be doing the same.
They are Knotty Ash councillor Alison Clarke, Everton member Alfie Hincks and Old Swan councillors Rona Heron and Joanne Calvert.
In a statement, released to the ECHO, the five Labour councillors said 'we can't and won't vote for cuts.'
The statement said: "As a matter of personal conscience and political judgement, we have come to the decision that we have no choice but to vote against this year’s Liverpool City Council budget on March 2.
"We have supported attempts to draw up proposals that would amount to a no-cuts alternative. All these efforts have been rejected. The main elements of the budget are largely unchanged since the beginning of the consultation process."
The councillors said they could not accept the requirement to increase the minimum amount held in the local authority's reserves by nearly £11 million at a time when the city is facing 'brutal cuts.'
On the budget proposals, they added: "We can’t accept cuts such as those to social care and transport for children with special needs and disabilities, services that are vital to the families who rely on them. We oppose the failure to secure community-run libraries, mainly in the north of the city, which will be put at risk by an uncertain bidding process.
"We oppose the green bins charge, a retrograde step at a time of environmental crisis.
"The budget does not have the strong elements of investment the people of Liverpool deserve and amounts to a conventional cost-cutting exercise and a significant council tax rise at a time when there is a cost-of-living crisis and people are increasingly dependent on vital services. At the same time, the commissioners receive a backdated pay rise of 50% and expenses. This is so wrong."
The councillors said that they have been advised that voting against their own group's budget will result in 'severe disciplinary action by the Labour Party' - which could see them kicked out of the party altogether.
They added: "We are prepared to accept the consequences of our decision. We were not elected to make life harder for the people we represent."
The statement concludes to say: "We understand the difficult situation that Tory cuts have forced on us, and we have no wish to undermine colleagues. Ultimately, we are responsible to our conscience and our communities.
"The Labour Party should be leading efforts to expose the Tories’ twelve-year war on local government.
"There has to be an alternative to Labour councils implementing Tory cuts."
The budget meeting will take place in Liverpool Town Hall, from 5pm on Wednesday.
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