“Telford Deserves a Fairer Deal” says Shaun Davies MP
Shaun Davies, Member of Parliament for Telford, has joined forces with Telford & Wrekin Council Leader, Councillor Lee Carter, to press the Government for a “fairer, better deal” for local residents. The push comes after the former Conservative Government cut more than £120 million a year from the Council’s budget, placing unprecedented pressure on essential local services.
In recent months Telford’s MP has brought both the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves MP, and the Secretary of State for Local Government, Steve Reed MP, to Telford to hear directly about the challenges facing the town.
Last week, Shaun took and the Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council to the heart of government, attending to 10 Downing Street and meeting again with Local Government Secretary Steve Reed MP, to reinforce the urgency of securing a fairer funding settlement for Telford.
Shaun Davies MP said: “For years we’ve had a funding system that’s helped the rich get richer and left poorer communities behind. I’ve seen it first-hand as Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council and now as Telford’s MP, and I’ve been saying for years: Telford deserves more.
“Finally, we have a Government that listens to local leaders about the needs of their communities. This is about fair funding and equal opportunity, and I’ll keep standing up for Telford to get the fair deal it deserves.”
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed MP, said: “This Labour Government is reforming the funding system that led to regional divides, postcode lotteries, and substandard public services for too many people. Our changes will make sure cash going to councils is shared out in a fairer way that follows needs. We want every family to benefit from our Plan for Change, and fairer funding means people will soon be able to see and feel the difference in their own local area.”
Councillor Lee Carter, Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, said:
“We welcome the Government’s announcement last week of a £5bn boost for local government funding over three years, following the Fair Funding Review. I travelled to London with Shaun Davies MP to talk to Government about a range of issues including fair funding. For too long, single-year settlements, coupled with reductions in funding have made long-term financial planning difficult for us in Telford and Wrekin; over the 14 years prior to 2024 more than £180million was cut from our budget and that was in spite of the fact that throughout that period we were recognised as a good council delivering good local services and the lowest Council Tax in the region. The cuts just kept coming.
“It is however refreshing to see the current government not only understands the challenge but is also proactively doing something about it.”
The details of the multi-year settlement will be released in December.
