MAYOR Joe Anderson’s warning that government cuts will spark civil unrest has been echoed by two of England’s other biggest cities.
Following a report of the Mayor’s letter to the Prime Minister two weeks ago, he has been joined by leaders in Newcastle and Sheffield.
In a letter to a national newspaper, the three council chiefs accuse the government of deepening the divide between north and south.
They write: “What we have today is a brand of Conservatism that has no social conscience, taking us back to a Dickensian view of the world.
“The unfairness of the government’s cuts is in danger of creating a deeply divided nation.
“We urge them to stop what they are doing now and listen to our warnings before the forces of social unrest start to smoulder.”
It comes as fresh research shows Merseyside is one of the big losers in a new government house-building programme.
Liverpool has seen a net loss of more than £2m in the New Homes Bonus scheme, under which local authorities fund a bonus pot which rewards areas where new homes are built.
Analysis by the public services union Unison shows all the top 10 net losers in cash terms are in the north, while the top 10 gainers are in the south.
Critics say the scheme is sucking money from the north as developers focus on building in the south where there is bigger demand and the prices they can command are higher.
