View all newsletters
Sign up to our newsletters

Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. Politics
21 March 2018

PMQs review: Jeremy Corbyn targets the Tories’ “pay more, get less” council model

The Labour leader caught Theresa May off guard by raising the bankruptcy of Northamptonshire council. 

By George Eaton

Ever since the Conservatives’ austerity programme began in 2010, the harshest spending reductions have fallen on local councils. By devolving the cuts, the Tories hoped to avoid the blame.

But in the form of the bankrupt, Conservative-run Northamptonshire, this approach has returned to haunt them. At today’s PMQs, in advance of the 3 May local elections, Corbyn neatly framed the issue: “Does the Prime Minister believe the collapse of Northamptonshire council is the fault of Conservative incompetence at a local level, or is it Conservative incompetence at a national level?”

May, who appeared entirely unprepared, could only reply that “Conservative councils cost you less”. (Labour has responded with figures showing that council residents, in fact, pay more in Tory-controlled areas.)

After Corbyn denounced Northamptonshire’s “easy council” model, which involved the outsourcing of 96 per cent of its staff, May replied that the council’s problems were not solely due to “underfunding” (a claim that Corbyn did not actually make).

But as the Labour leader went on to note, councils are still facing a £5.8bn funding gap by 2020. “With hindsight,” Corbyn asked, “does the Prime Minister really believe it was right to prioritise tax cuts for the super rich and big business?”

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

May cut a more confident figure when she derided Labour’s internal divisions. Local leaders, she said, had been ousted in Haringey, Brighton and Cornwall, partly in revenge for “tackling anti-Semitism”. And the Prime Minister could further cite the defection of two Labour Ashfield councillors to the Tories (including the office manager of shadow justice minister Gloria De Piero), gleefully quoting their words: “Both locally and nationally, the Labour Party has been taken over by the hard left who are more interested in fighting internal ideological battles than standing up for the priorities of working men and women.”

Corbyn, who sensibly ignored May’s political jibes, repeated his mantra with New Labour-esque discipline: “Pay more, get less [under the Conservatives].” But the Prime Minister had saved some ammunition for her final response, boasting that unemployment remained at a record low and employment at a record high – leaving the Labour leader with no chance to reply (he could have noted that the jobless total rose by 24,000 over the quarter and that real wages fell for the 11th consecutive month).

May managed to avoid the humiliation that her first answer promised. But she would  still be wise to prepare a better response if, as some Tories fear, more councils go the way of Northamptonshire.

Content from our partners
Development finance reform: the key to climate action
Individually rare, collectively common – how do we transform the lives of people with rare diseases?
Future proofing the NHS

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU