Lib Dems warn National Service plan would see cuts to vital services in Surrey after scrapping of £4,762,338 local fund
Lib Dems warn National Service plan would see cuts to vital services in Surrey after scrapping of £4,762,338 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 across Surrey, including Esher & Walton.
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 over £4 million of funding across Surrey from 2022 to 2025, of which £1million was allocated to Elmbridge. Local projects funded or being planned from the fund include the relaunch of Walton Playhouse, improving playgrounds and play spaces across Elmbridge and upgrading Claygate and Hurst pools - all vital services that will benefit the local community.
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.
Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Esher & Walton, Monica Harding commented:
“The Conservative Party has already done so much damage to people’s living standards and public services in Esher & Walton and across Surrey 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.
“It's time to get these out-of-touch, out-of-time Conservatives and their desperate policies out once and for all”.
Notes to Editor:
Funding by area provided through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) can be found here:.