Liberal Democrats in Bury are calling on the Council to step up consultation on the future of local services after the government cut Bury’s budget by around £12m for the coming year.

The budget, set as part of the nationwide local government settlement, will see Bury Council lose around a quarter of its budget over the next four years. Liberal Democrats are concerned that without proper consultation, many valuable services could be threatened.

Cllr Richard Baum, Resource spokesman for the Bury Liberal Democrats, said “We all know that cuts need to happen to deal with mess inherited by the government. Some of those cuts are happening here in Bury so it’s vital that local people get the chance to tell us what they want prioritised.”

“Lib Dems have been asking local people for a long time now, so that we can fight to protect the services local people need. The only way we can get the debt and deficit down is by taking local people with us, so I call on the people in charge of the Council to get out into our local communities across Bury now and start an open, honest conversation about the challenges we face.”

“Lib Dems in Bury will continue to fight to give Bury the best services we all want and need.”