Moves to cut 80 firefighters in East Sussex opposed by Labour’s parliamentary candidates and councillors in the county.
Plans to cut frontline services as part of a £7.1m cost-saving exercise have been backed by Conservative, Green, Liberal and UKIP councillors.
Three fire stations are at risk in Forest Row, Herstmonceux and Mayfield. In Brighton and Hove a fire engine could go, and across the county 80 firefighters face the axe. In Hastings & Battle this means the service could lose a retained fire crew, it will also impact on fire prevention work. There were no proposals put forward to cut back the senior management team or to reduce their allowances.
The proposals were voted through today by Conservative, Green, Lib Dem & UKIP councillors from across East Sussex and Brighton and Hove. Labour councillors opposed the cuts.
Further cuts are expected as the service still needs to find savings of £2.6m.
Sarah Owen, Labour’s General Election candidate in Hastings & Rye, is meeting with the Chief Fire Officer Des Prichard to ask why the management team is exempt from the cuts.
In a joint statement Labour’s Parliamentary Candidates in East Sussex, said: “We are very concerned that all of the proposed changes are to frontline services – the people we rely on when we need help most – this is not acceptable.
“Before today people were telling us they want to see their firefighters protected, this news will come as a shock and cause outrage. People will want to know how they can justify cutting firefighters when we have senior members of staff being paid around the same as the Prime Minister.
“Of course we need to make savings but not to frontline services in this way, response times will increase, fire prevention work will suffer, this is a bad move and one that all Labour General Election candidates and councillors will campaign against.”
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