Tories in U-turn on Telford & Wrekin Council budget, says Labour
Labour councillors in Telford have dismissed an alternative budget put forward by their Conservative counterparts, calling it a "complete U-turn".
Tories in Telford want to cut Telford & Wrekin Council's budget for adult care services by £4.7 million instead of the proposed £7m, invest £7m a year in highways, and scrap the Pride in Your Community Programme.
It is the first time the party has produced a full-scale alternative budget, and it will be presented to council on February 27.
However, Councillor Kuldip Sahota, leader of the Council, said the Conservatives had included money generated by development projects that the party had opposed.
Councillor Sahota said: "The Conservative Group have clearly made a choice in their alternative budget to agree our plan for growth and capital receipts, plans that they have consistently opposed over the last three years.
"In doing so they have accepted the sale of land in Newport, the New Homes Bonus, which is based on 850 homes a year, together with all our income generation programme.
"This is a complete U-turn on what they have been saying and Councillor Eade and the Conservative Group now need to stop playing party political games over planning issues."
The Labour councillors also called for a meeting with MP for the Wrekin, Mark Pritchard, after he wrote on Twitter: "If you want to see a well-run, low-cost, efficient council, you need look no further than Conservative-led Shropshire Council."
