Shropshire Council should consider joining with Telford, says MP
An MP says Shropshire Council should consider joining neighbouring Telford & Wrekin as one option to tackle finance issues.
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Shrewsbury's Labour MP, Julia Buckley, has said Shropshire Council faces 'tough choices' but 'cannot continue as it has'.
The comments come after the Conservative leader of Shropshire Council told the authority's cabinet on Wednesday that Mrs Buckley had suggested it merge with neighbouring Telford & Wrekin as a way of dealing with its budget problems.
Those comments came during a fractious discussion over the cash-strapped council's call for more revenue funding from government.
Conservative cabinet members accused Mrs Buckley of not 'backing their case' for greater funding from government - a suggestion she later rejected, saying the council needs to reform its 'broken financial model' before receiving money from national taxation.
During the debate the Labour group leader, Councillor Rosemary Dartnall said: "My understanding is not that the MP for Shrewsbury did not back our case, but that the MP for Shrewsbury asked for a different kind of dialogue."
Replying, council leader, Councillor Lezley Picton said: "I had forgotten about that, yes that's right, yes, the MP for Shrewsbury actually told us basically to merge with Telford & Wrekin, I think that's what she said."
