City council’s financial crisis is not the fault of its leader, says Sir Keir
KEIR Starmer said Nottingham City Council’s financial crisis was nothing to do with its leader, as he paid tribute to David Mellen’s “public service”.
Councillor Mellen has announced he will not stand to be the leader of the council’s ruling Labour group when its AGM takes place on Monday.
The Post understands that names mentioned in Labour circles as potential successors to Councillor Mellen include Steve Battlemuch, Sam Gardiner, Neghat Khan and Adele Williams, with the new leader set to officially take office in May.
Councillor Mellen took over the leadership from Jon Collins and his time in office has seen an effective declaration of bankruptcy, brutal budget cuts and Governmentappointed commissioners being sent in to run the authority.
But speaking during a visit to Nottinghamshire on Monday, Sir Keir said Nottingham’s problems could be pinned on Government “chaos.”
He said of Councillor Mellen: “He’s standing down, he’s given that public service, which is very important.
“But the challenges are not to do with the leader of the council. The challenges are to do with the failure of the Government to support our councils and to put more and more burdens on them.
“That is something which, if we’re privileged enough to come into government, we’re going to have to address along with the other long list of failures under this Government.”
With many local authorities at a financial “tipping point”, Sir Keir is confident Labour would fix the crisis in local government funding.
He said: “Many councils are in financial crisis, and that’s councils that are run by the Tory party, councils run by the Labour Party, because of the chaos and underfunding over many years.”
The Labour leader said funding for local authorities should be confirmed over a three-year period, rather than every 12 months as is currently the case.
Sir Keir also said that a Labour government would ensure a more stable economy and ban no-fault evictions.