Vonny Watts, Deputy Chair of the Conservatives in Sheffield, shows just how out of touch the Tories are with the majority of people across Sheffield.
Speaking on Radio Sheffield this morning, Vonny asked that we talk of “..efficiencies not cuts, because that’s what they are…” So does Vonny consider the cuts to Sheffield’s budgets as ‘efficiency savings’? Where has Vonny been for the last few months? Has she not heard the cries on anguish from across the City as people and groups see the impact of cuts to their communities and services? Does she really think that the decision to reduce the council’s budget by £140m over the last two years and a further £50m for the forthcoming financial year is based on ‘efficiencies’?
Her government, propped up by Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems, have brutally cut the sum allocated to Sheffield that means we are having to curtail spending across all services. They have slashed over £7m from the Early Intervention Grant that supported Children’s Centres, Child Care and Youth Activities; they have cut over £5m of funding for Council Tax support, hitting low income families and they have introduced the horrendous ‘Bedroom Tax’ that penalises people for wanting to say in the family home they’ve lived in for years! Staggeringly, inspite of these attacks on low income families, Vonny went on to proclaim that the Tories are “the compassionate party”!
And lets not forget, these ‘efficiencies’ that Sheffield is facing come at the same time that Vonny’s friends in London are introducing a £100k tax cut for millionaires. But hey, we’re all in it together!
