Latest news with #BBCPoliticsNorth
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Council leader 'will not take diversity training'
The new leader of Lincolnshire County Council says he will not take part in diversity training in his new role. Speaking on BBC Politics North, Reform UK's Sean Matthews also said he was not interested in climate change and that his priorities were to save money and "cut out the waste". Earlier in the week, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted on social media that all people should be treated equally and any UK Reform councillor instructed to take part in diversity or climate change training would "do no such thing". The Green Party's Natalie Bennett said diversity training was a good use of taxpayers' money and said "to be that dismissive is really, deeply disturbing". Matthews was announced as the county council's new leader on Thursday after Reform took control from the Conservative Party in the elections on 1 May. "I've not been asked to do any diversity training, which is a good start," he said. "I think that the staff here may have an inkling as to what sort of response they would get from me. So that's not happening, as far as I'm concerned, unless it's hidden in the undergrowth somewhere. "And as far as climate change is concerned.. I'm not interested." Echoing comments made last week by the county's new mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns, he said that diversity officers are called "different things" and said "we've got to get a grip of that". Presenter Tim Iredale asked Bennett if she thought diversity training was a good use of taxpayers' money. She said: "Absolutely, because I think that we have long-term historical prejudices, long-term historical discrimination. "Fixing that is not just the right thing to do morally, it's the thing that ensures that we have the best possible council services, that we are able to engage everyone in our community and that the council services meet the needs of everybody in that community. "We surely should want to ensure that everyone in our community can flourish, can have the best opportunities to participate and to be that dismissive is really, deeply disturbing." Now the opposition on the council, the Conservative group leader, councillor Richard Davies, said: "Lincolnshire County Council is a well run, prudently financially managed authority, delivering really important services. "This is not a political football to be kicked around. "[Reform UK have] made a lot of commitments around borrowing, about council tax, about improving services, that we will hold them to account to deliver." Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Jenkyns: fracking would save money for taxpayers Reform UK picks ex-police officer to lead council Tory group leader steps down after 20 years Lincolnshire County Council Politics North (Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)
BBC News
04-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Nigel Farage DEI comments disgusting, Durham Lib Dem says
An outgoing council leader has attacked comments by Reform UK's Nigel Farage regarding diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI), after his party took control of the authority. Reform UK won a landslide victory on Durham County Council, winning 65 seats to take overall other pledges, Farage told the BBC on Friday: "If you're a DEI officer I suggest you look for another job." Amanda Hopgood, Durham's Liberal Democrat leader said "I thought it was absolutely disgusting", but Sunderland Reform campaigner Chris Eynon described DEI roles as "complete nonsense not-jobs". The Lib Dems increased their number of Durham councillors, but collapses in other parties combined with huge Reform gains to shift who previously led the council in coalition, told BBC Politics North: "I thought it was a dreadful way to take victory and speak about the staff who are going to have to deliver your priorities, because - believe it or not - the county councillors set the strategy, the officers and the staff deliver the services on the ground. "What he has done in one fell swoop is alienate almost all of the staff at county hall."If that's the way that leadership is set to look for the future then I am worried about the future, of not just our county but of this country." Also appearing on BBC Politics North, Eynon reiterated his leader's comments. He said: "She [Hopgood] is absolutely right, we do want to get rid of diversity, equality and inclusion jobs, these complete nonsense not-jobs. "I think the voters want more bin men, they want more people cleaning the streets, more actual front-line council workers, not these DEI managers working from home and 100 grand a year."The voters have said that they don't want this anymore."We surely can't do a worse job than what's already been done previously."They [voters] like the fact that we want to cut city hall waste, put more money into front-line services and just stop all the colossal increase in council tax we're getting every year in the North East." Hopgood hit back at the claims, saying the DEI jobs referenced by Eynon "don't exist"."They dabbled in local issues but without actually looking at any of the detail, so I look forward to the auditors coming in that they claim to be sending."Believe it or not we do get audited to death as local authorities, you would expect that." BBC Politics North airs Sundays at 10am. Catch up now on the BBC BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
23-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Sunderland councillor and carer calls welfare plan scary
A Conservative councillor who has cared for his disabled mother since he was a child said he is "scared" by the government's planned changes to benefits even though he supports reducing the welfare the changes announced by the Labour government was a tightening of the eligibility criteria for personal independence payment and a "right to try" work without immediately losing Tory group leader Antony Mullen said there were elements his party could support, but accused Labour of not telling the public of its plans ahead of the last the changes, Labour MP for Penrith & Solway Markus Campbell-Savours told BBC Politics North: "Ultimately this is about us ensuring the system is fairer."Appearing on the same programme, Lib Dem councillor Jemma Joy said more support should be given to employers to help them recruit and retain disabled staff. Mullen told the BBC: "There are certainly some elements that I think the Conservatives could support, but I felt very scared this week, because I've been a carer for my disabled mother since I was 11 years old."So I've felt this very personally, because there will never come a time when she is able to work." Mullen said: "There are some people who probably haven't got the right support, the jobs probably don't exist for them in the local area."They probably haven't had the right kind of guidance from people, they might need support getting new qualifications."He said the plan "wasn't in Labour's manifesto, it wasn't clear what they were going to do with this", but added: "I think if people can work, and want to work, they should absolutely be encouraged to do so." Campbell-Savours argued the rising cost of benefits required the government to take action. He said: "When you've got a welfare bill which has gone up since Covid from £30bn to £50bn, and is expected to reach £70bn by the end of this decade, that area of expenditure should be looked at "We should be prioritising getting people into work and not being in a situation where they're on sickness benefits in the first place."The MP said he understood concerns about welfare changes from Labour Party colleagues. "I think it's not surprising that Labour party activists and members – many of whom have campaigned for some of the most vulnerable people in the world – will have concerns about some of these measures." he said. Redcar and Cleveland councillor Joy said: "We would like to see is a fair system where government support is there for employers to make provision for people with disabilities or extra needs to stay in work and create some stability for themselves. "I think we have to be careful with the language that we use. "We're calling them benefits, they're not benefits they're personal independence payments."That means that you might actually be working and you use that payment to help with additional needs, additional support from someone else to care for you or for equipment."We know that a significant proportion have really significant mental health issues, and this is only going to make that worse." Politics North airs on 10am on Sunday on BBC One in the North East and Cumbria. Catch up on previous episodes now on the BBC North East on X and Facebook and BBC Cumbria on X and Facebook and both on Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas here.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Councillors accuse government of rural cash cuts
County councillors have accused the government of reducing funds for rural services. In November, the government confirmed it was "repurposing" the rural services delivery grant as it "does not properly assess rural need". But Northumberland Conservative councillor Nick Oliver said the grant, worth £3.5m to the county in recent years, was "taken away overnight". Liz Twist, Labour MP for Blaydon and Consett, claimed local government funding had increased. The rural services delivery grant provided funding to authorities in recognition of the possible additional costs of delivering services in sparsely populated areas. Speaking on BBC Politics North, Oliver highlighted that pressures on councils were continuing to build. "I've been a councillor for almost eight years now and this year feels worse than any other year since I started," he said. "We've had the rural services grant just taken away overnight, no warning whatsoever. "In rural areas, it costs more to deliver council services. "That rural services grant is being replaced with this recovery grant and, guess what, Northumberland is the only council in the North East that isn't getting any recovery grant. "It's also the only Conservative council." Labour MP Twist rejected any suggestion this was a party political decision and defended the government's action on council tax. She said: "We have increased local government funding by £5bn this year and we've invested in additional things like homelessness funds and other specific grants. "We do recognise the pressure local government's under, in fact I think there was actually a lot of consensus about the fact that local government has been hammered over the last 10-12 years so we're looking to recover from that." This week many authorities announced rises in council tax, with authorities across the North East opting for just under 5%. Speaking on behalf of Reform UK, Durham County Councillor Rob Potts said: "We were given £48m in County Durham only then to find out at the same time we lost £49.8m of our transport budget. "We make the cuts that we have to and it may be that we have to make further cuts in the future, but unfortunately the money that we were given is nowhere near the money that we need. "We were promised that there would be no increases in council taxes, only to receive an amount of money which wasn't enough not to raise council taxes." Twist also rejected this and said the Labour administration was committed to helping councils and taxpayers plan for future financial changes. She added: "This is a one-year settlement of course. "We've come in midway through the financial year, we've had to produce for this year and what we're looking at for the future is longer term funding settlements, multi-year settlements, so that people know what they're getting." BBC Politics North airs on BBC One on Sundays at 10:00GMT. Catch up with the latest episodes on BBC iPlayer. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas here. How much is council tax going up? Rural village films advert in search of new GP Northumberland County Council Durham County Council
BBC News
16-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
North East councillors accuse government of rural cash cuts
County councillors have accused the government of reducing funds for rural November, the government confirmed it was "repurposing" the rural services delivery grant as it "does not properly assess rural need".But Northumberland Conservative councillor Nick Oliver said the grant, worth £3.5m to the county in recent years, was "taken away overnight".Liz Twist, Labour MP for Blaydon and Consett, claimed local government funding had increased. The rural services delivery grant provided funding to authorities in recognition of the possible additional costs of delivering services in sparsely populated areas. Speaking on BBC Politics North, Oliver highlighted that pressures on councils were continuing to build."I've been a councillor for almost eight years now and this year feels worse than any other year since I started," he said."We've had the rural services grant just taken away overnight, no warning whatsoever."In rural areas, it costs more to deliver council services. "That rural services grant is being replaced with this recovery grant and, guess what, Northumberland is the only council in the North East that isn't getting any recovery grant."It's also the only Conservative council." Labour MP Twist rejected any suggestion this was a party political decision and defended the government's action on council said: "We have increased local government funding by £5bn this year and we've invested in additional things like homelessness funds and other specific grants."We do recognise the pressure local government's under, in fact I think there was actually a lot of consensus about the fact that local government has been hammered over the last 10-12 years so we're looking to recover from that."This week many authorities announced rises in council tax, with authorities across the North East opting for just under 5%. Speaking on behalf of Reform UK, Durham County Councillor Rob Potts said: "We were given £48m in County Durham only then to find out at the same time we lost £49.8m of our transport budget."We make the cuts that we have to and it may be that we have to make further cuts in the future, but unfortunately the money that we were given is nowhere near the money that we need."We were promised that there would be no increases in council taxes, only to receive an amount of money which wasn't enough not to raise council taxes." Twist also rejected this and said the Labour administration was committed to helping councils and taxpayers plan for future financial added: "This is a one-year settlement of course."We've come in midway through the financial year, we've had to produce for this year and what we're looking at for the future is longer term funding settlements, multi-year settlements, so that people know what they're getting." BBC Politics North airs on BBC One on Sundays at 10:00GMT. Catch up with the latest episodes on BBC iPlayer. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas here.
