Viewpoint: Our budget and priorities must start putting communities first

In 2018 we will need a local budget that puts our communities first.

For too long, Tower Hamlets Mayor John Biggs’ budgets have been a paler version of the austerity budgets of the Tory Government.

The government’s budget was a clear admission of failure - growth is down by 0.5 per cent, productivity is down by 0.7pc, and investment is down by 1.5pc.

The government’s hugely unpopular Universal Credit will be a triple whammy of hardship for people who have already been hit by the reduction in the Council Tax Support Scheme and the whopping 9pc council tax increase courtesy of John Biggs’ administration.

This will create misery condemning some vulnerable families to a Christmas holiday period relying on food parcels.

We need a mayor who - instead of indulging in local point scoring and what amounts to collusion with the Tories - is not afraid to stand up to them nationally and locally.

We need the kind of leadership that is proud and determined to stand up for what is right for our communities in tough times.