Workers in protest over Kirklees Council budget cuts

Campaigners angry at plans by Kirklees Council to cut spending on public services have staged a protest outside Huddersfield Town Hall.

The council announced last year that between £250m and £400m would be cut from the budget over five years, leading to hundreds of job losses.

The cuts are planned in anticipation of an expected fall in government funding.

The protest took place ahead of a meeting where the council is setting its 2010/11 budget.

The demonstration was organised by campaign group Save Our Services.

We can either bury our heads in the sand and wait for central government after the general election to announce budget reductions Kirklees Council leader Mehboob Khan

Councillor Jackie Grunsall, speaking for the group, said: "We don't want to see people put on the dole at a time of recession.

"We think that's terrible for the people involved but also from an economic point of view we don't think it's a good idea to be making people unemployed, they are less able to spend money in the economy, claiming benefits, not paying their taxes."

Voluntary retirement

Ms Grunsall added: "Our other concern is about the services those people are involved in delivering and the effect the cuts will have on those services."

Mehboob Khan, leader of Kirklees Council, said frontline services would be protected.

Responding to questions about the job losses, he said more than 1,000 people had already asked for voluntary early retirement.

"We can either bury our heads in the sand and wait for central government after the general election to announce budget reductions.

"There is a £180m national deficit that has to be dealt with and any government is going to do something to reduce public spending."

Mr Khan added: "What we are doing is emulating the best practice in the private sector in reducing our overheads, our administration, in order to protect frontline services."

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