Lib Dems warn National Service plan would see cuts to vital services in Leeds after scrapping of £21.3mn local fund

The Liberal Democrats have warned that the Conservative Party’s plans to spend £2.5 billion on National Service would lead to cuts to vital services in Leeds.

The Conservatives have said their plans would be paid for by slashing funding for local areas through the Shared Prosperity Fund from 2028-29, which funds projects that boost jobs and living standards, improve public services and build pride in local communities.

This fund has provided £21.3 million of funding for Leeds from 2022 to 2025. Local projects funded include local welfare support services for people impacted by the cost of living crisis, a project aiming to make Leeds a more popular choice for conferences and events, and support for local food banks.

The Liberal Democrats said it showed the Conservative Party had completely the wrong priorities, and called on the government to reverse their plans to slashed troop numbers by 10,000 instead.

Commenting, George Sykes, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Leeds South said:

“The Conservative Party has already done so much damage to people’s living standards and public services in Leeds with all their chaos.

“Now they want to slash funding for local services to pay for their hare-brained plans for a National Service, which are nothing but a desperate distraction from the government’s record of failure on the NHS and economy.

“If the Conservatives were serious about defending Britain’s security, they would reverse their plans to cut the Army by 10,000 troops.”

Additional info and sources:

Funding by area provided through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus/ukspf-allocations