A union mourned the city's lost council jobs and services with a graveyard. Unison unveiled the cemetery installation as part of its new campaign Bring it Back outside Brighton Town Hall on Wednesday, in time for the autumn Budget. Each headstone displayed the names of services and jobs the city has lost.
The campaign from the city council’s largest union wanted to draw residents’ attention to the loss of local jobs and services, such as libraries and disability day centres, which Unison said have marked “13 years of Tory cuts and underinvestment”. The installation was part of the union's new campaign (Image: James Pike Photography) The union said since 2010, councils across the country have had 40 per cent of their funding from central government cut while having to meet an ever-increasing demand for services. It said it is estimated that Brighton and Hove City Council has lost over £110m in funding from central government in the last 13 years and been forced to cut over 500 jobs, close several essential community resources and slash funding to a host of services.
Read more: Recap: Rachel Reeves delivers autumn Budget Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced £1.3 billion of extra grant money for councils in her statement on Wednesday, providing what she called a “significant real-terms funding increase” for local government. The Budget, delivered for the first time by a female chancellor, also pledged that local authorities in England will be given £233 million of a.