Newcastle City Council leader Nick Kemp has called on the new Prime Minister to go "further and faster" on devolution and provide a long-term funding boost to local Government - where he said services were at "breaking point".
Coun Kemp (Lab, Byker) has congratulated Sir Keir Starmer, praised his early work in post, and now called for greater devolution in an open letter published on Monday. Coun Kemp said "radical change" was needed to tackle issues including deprivation and the "abject poverty" many Tyneside children are growing up in.
The letter has been published on the city council's website. Coun Kemp also committed to working with the recently-elected North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, and backed her calls for more funding and powers for the North East Combined Authority under her control.
In the letter, Cllr Kemp said: "Newcastle has suffered more than most following 14 years of austerity and we continue to experience some of the highest levels of deprivation in the country. Too many of our children are growing up in abject poverty and we need radical change.
"We are a proud city. We are a city with a rich industrial heritage and working-class roots. We were once the ‘workshop of the world’ and those foundations of innovation and progress remain steadfast today. We have fought and clawed for investment in our city and further powers for the region is what we need to deliver more meaningful outcomes for our residents.
“I also ask you today to consider a more sustainable and long-term approach to Local Government funding. Our crucial frontline services are at breaking point and councils, of all political colours, are facing an existential financial crisis across the country."
Last week figures from charity Action for Children suggested that over half of North East parents don't think they'll be able to afford a summer holiday this year and a quarter worry about giving their children three meals a day.
Coun Kemp said families living in poverty had born the brunt of "14 years of neglect". He added: "Your prudent financial management means we do not face that same fate, but the system is fundamentally broken and it is hard working families, and those living in some of the most challenging of circumstances, who ultimately pay the price.
“I know there is a long, hard road ahead of us as we try to repair the damage caused by 14 years of neglect. However, you have the support of this council in delivering the radical reform necessary to put a nation back on its feet."
This comes as the new Chancellor Rachel Reeves has laid out a series of stark spending cuts she has been faced with. She said she was making “difficult decisions” as she accused the previous government of leaving £21.9 billion of unfunded commitments that it had “covered up from the country”.
Her predecessor Jeremy Hunt claimed around half of the “black hole” in spending was due to her deciding to give above-inflation pay rises to millions of public sector workers.
Coun Kemp's letter is in contrast to that sent by his Northumberland County Council counterpart Coun Glen Sanderson. Coun Sanderson urged the Prime Minister to allow the existing devolution deal to "bed in".
Coun Kemp's open letter has been published in full online here.
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