No more cuts, Tory councils tell George Osborne

Conservative-led Local Government Association warns that fresh round of cuts would devastate local services and communities

Tory council leaders across England and Wales have presented a united front with Labour and Lib Dem-run local authorities as they warn the chancellor, George Osborne, that another round of funding cuts would devastate local services and harm the most vulnerable in society.

In a letter to the Observer, council bosses representing every type of local authority in England and Wales, as part of the Tory-controlled Local Government Association (LGA), say they have already had to impose cuts of 40% since 2010 and cannot find more savings without serious consequences for community life and social care, and knock-on effects for the NHS.