Luciana Berger

I’ve already received a number of emails from people telling me they are angry about today’s Budget. The Chancellor George Osborne spoke for an hour, but one simple message stood out. The economy didn’t grow last year, won’t grow this year, or next year. That means unemployment will rise, householders will feel the squeeze, and businesses [...]

Luciana speaks in Parliament about Sure Start centres

“I was devastated to hear that my local Children’s Sure Start Centre at Woolton and Childwall is in the pipeline for closure.  As a new mum I have found the centre’s to be extremely supportive and a vital service for the community.  The staff have always been brilliant and [...]

Today I challenged the government to name any areas that Liverpool City Council can make cuts in without affecting frontline services.

During the Communities and Local Government question time in Parliament today I asked Grant Shapps whether he was willing to congratulate Liverpool City Council for the £70m of efficiency savings they had made, with £30m more [...]

Liverpool has been one of the hardest hit in the funding cuts announced by the Tory-led Government.  Almost a quarter of Liverpool City Council’s budget has been taken away, with painful ramifications for the services we all currently depend on.  It is extremely unfair how Liverpool has been targeted, bearing the greatest burden despite our greater need.

Around 5,000 [...]

Poverty and Inequality Conference discussing how cuts affect vulnerable people

On Friday 4th February I spoke at a conference organised by the Poverty and Homeless Action Group looking at how the recent public spending cuts are going to affect the city’s vulnerable communities.

Chaired by Roger Phillips, from BBC Radio Merseyside, there were welcome and opening remarks from Louise Ellman [...]

Last week, Liverpool withdrew from being a ‘vanguard’ for the government’s Big Society pilots.

 Joe Anderson, leader of Liverpool City Council, captured the reason perfectly:

 “Liverpool has been doing the “Big Society” for many years. We call it “working with our communities” and it is something we are very much committed to….

 How can the City [...]

Luciana speakin at the Rally at St Georges Hall against the cuts

On Saturday I spoke at a rally organised by the Joint Trades Unions of the City Council (JTUCC) at St Georges Hall in protest against the Tory-led Government’s funding cuts to Liverpool City Council and public services across the city.

Hundreds marched through the city [...]

The news from Liverpool City Council that 1,500 members of staff are to face redundancy is a serious blow to the dedicated people who work for the council.

The government’s 22% cut in funding is the largest budget cut of any city in the UK, despite having the social problems that come with the high levels of deprivation we [...]