£4.3bn written off by Rishi Sunak 'could have funded Swindon for 26 years'

The Swindon Labour group claimed the money written off by the Chancellor of the Exchequer could have funded Swindon Borough Council's entire budget for 26 years.

This comes days after the Treasury minister in charge of countering fraud resigned in disgust at the Conservative government’s inability to prevent the staggering waste.

Swindon Borough Council's leader countered by suggesting the town's Labour members care more about national issues than local ones and that they "lack pride in their town".

Coun Jim Grant said, “This shameful Conservative government is utterly failing the people of Swindon.

“It’s not just the law-breaking, chaos and deceit of the despicable lockdown parties affair – it’s now clear that the industrial scale of incompetence of this Conservative government is hammering services and forcing tax rises on our community. They are so obsessed with covering up the latest scandal that they can’t do the basics.

“Rishi Sunak has just written off £4.3 billion in fraud. He is letting criminals get away with enough money to fund Swindon for 26 years. At the same time, they are cutting support to hardworking families in our area and raising taxes. It is genuinely hard to believe any government could be this bad.

“People in Swindon are facing a cost-of-living crisis, while a Conservative government that is so out of touch it believes it is above the law and so incompetent that it watches billions of pounds of our money walk out the door. Swindon deserves so much better.”

Council leader David Renard hit back: “We successfully run an administration that puts people at the heart of Swindon and whilst ‘local’ Labour rely on ‘national issues’ to make points we have used government Covid grants to support residents and local businesses in a way which has drawn much appreciation across the borough.

"We have a track record of delivering jobs, growth, homes and a genuine prospect of regeneration and all Labour can do is talk about issues which are unproven at a national level and which don’t concern the majority of residents who care about local public services, education and opportunity for all.

"Frankly, the local Labour Party are doing nothing to attract investment in Swindon by talking the town down in order to win political support. Their lack of pride in their town runs the risk of losing us good quality, sustainable jobs.

"The Conservatives have a post-Covid vision for our town and will continue to grow the economy, support residents with access to good quality local services and tackle the more pressing issues affecting us all as we recover from the pandemic”