TORY MP Andy Carter has labelled Labour-run Warrington Borough Council as ‘incompetent’ amid a row over austerity.

The council’s cabinet slammed austerity measures and budget cuts from the Government at its meeting last Monday.

A report to members reaffirmed that, since 2010-11, the authority has achieved more than £137 million of savings as a result of reduced funding, with a further £45 million required over the current four-year budget cycle.

Deputy leader Cllr Cathy Mitchell said the council has been ‘cut to the bone’ after cuts over the last decade.

She said it has been left in a ‘dire situation’ and labelled the current picture as a ‘recovering situation’.

Leader Cllr Russ Bowden added: “It is a decade of Tory failure, austerity, and we are still paying the price.

“Ultimately, it is the residents of Warrington who are paying the price, in terms of the decreasing diminished resources.

“But we have done absolutely everything we can to protect those services, including the significant investment programme, without that level of income being driven by this council I seriously hate to think where we would be at in terms of those crucial services.

“I think what we have always done is take our responsibility incredibly seriously and that is why we have embarked on the investment programme we have.”

Cllr Bowden also highlighted plans to generate £7.5 million of new income this year, through investments.

He says it is only expected that ‘we keep coming forward’ with the investments because of the choice the council has been left with due to cuts.

But Mr Carter, who holds the seat for Warrington South, has responded to the comments.

The MP said: “This is typical of the Labour-run Warrington council who, as usual, are blaming the Government, when in fact a lot of their failures are down to their own incompetence and management.

“Labour councils across the country are actually costing residents and businesses more money, hiking up council bills the most, leaving everyone worse off.

“The Conservatives know that local authorities play a vital role across all our communities, providing important services, which is why the Government has committed to boosting councils’ funding by £2.9 billion, the biggest funding increase in a decade.”