Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Official Opposition at County Hall, Cllr Chris Stanbra, has criticised Conservative plans to slash £1m from Northamptonshire libraries, a budget cut of 25%. The Conservative plans also state that if the cuts are not made before June 2013 libraries will be faced with the threat of closure.
Cllr Stanbra said “This is a massive cut from the library service, which comes on top of substantial cuts to the service that were made earlier this year . Libraries are hugely important to our local communities. They are often the place where our children learn to read and are crucial for the well-being of our county. It is cynical in the extreme for the Conservatives to pretend they are maintaining our libraries. One million pounds is being taken away from this front line service for our communities, 25% of the total budget.”
“Even more cynical is the Conservative proposal to make the decision on closing libraries in June 2013, a month after the County Council elections. If the Conservatives really wanted to be upfront they would have the courage to come clean with the electorate and make any closure decisions before the elections. As it is the Conservatives have chosen to hide what they want to do to our libraries. I doubt residents will be fooled by such a cynical political manoeuvre. The message for local residents is clear. Don’t vote Conservative if you want to keep your local library.”
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