Birmingham was once a powerhouse industrial metropolis, but now the UK's second city is a shell of its former self as rubbish lines the streets, the lights stay off and children grow up below the poverty line.
To claw back $600 million over the next two years, the council has approved a range of unprecedented budget cuts that will see streetlights dimmed and rubbish collected only once a fortnight.
Nick Davies, programme director of British think-tank Institute for Government, says the austerity measures brought in under former prime minister David Cameron have degraded public services across the country.
The austerity measures included a reduction in government spending on welfare, local authorities, police, courts and prisons as well as the cancellation of school building programs.
The dire state of public services in the UK, paired with a cost-of-living crisis, is expected to be a major driver for voters at the general election on July 4.
UK Labour’s ‘red wall’ across the middle and north of England crumbled in 2019, as the Conservative party picked up marginal seats with the promise of “levelling-up” the regions.
The once-popular Conservative West Midlands mayor Andy Street was toppled in local elections last month, a blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s hopes of retaining support in middle England.
The original article contains 991 words, the summary contains 175 words. Saved 82%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
To claw back $600 million over the next two years, the council has approved a range of unprecedented budget cuts that will see streetlights dimmed and rubbish collected only once a fortnight.
Nick Davies, programme director of British think-tank Institute for Government, says the austerity measures brought in under former prime minister David Cameron have degraded public services across the country.
The austerity measures included a reduction in government spending on welfare, local authorities, police, courts and prisons as well as the cancellation of school building programs.
The dire state of public services in the UK, paired with a cost-of-living crisis, is expected to be a major driver for voters at the general election on July 4.
UK Labour’s ‘red wall’ across the middle and north of England crumbled in 2019, as the Conservative party picked up marginal seats with the promise of “levelling-up” the regions.
The once-popular Conservative West Midlands mayor Andy Street was toppled in local elections last month, a blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s hopes of retaining support in middle England.
The original article contains 991 words, the summary contains 175 words. Saved 82%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!