Lib Dems warn National Service plan would see cuts to vital services in Mid Sussex after scrapping of £1mn local fund

The Liberal Democrats have warned that the Conservative Party’s plans to spend £2.5 billion on National Service would lead to cuts to vital services in Mid Sussex.

The Conservatives have said their plans would be paid for by slashing funding for local areas through the Shared Prosperity Fund from 2028-29, which funds projects that boost jobs and living standards, improve public services and build pride in local communities.

This fund has provided £1 million of funding for Mid Sussex from 2022 to 2025. Local projects funded include The Cherry Tree Centre and St John’s Park in Burgess Hill, and in Haywards Heath, Barn Cottage Green at Bentswood and Victoria Park. 

The Liberal Democrats said it showed the Conservative Party had completely the wrong priorities, and called on the government to reverse their plans to slashed troop numbers by 10,000 instead.

Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Mid Sussex, Alison Bennett commented:

“The Conservative Party has already done so much damage to people’s living standards and public services in Mid Sussex with all their chaos.

“Now they want to slash funding for local services to pay for their hare-brained plans for a National Service, which are nothing but a desperate distraction from the government’s record of failure on the NHS and economy.

“If the Conservatives were serious about defending Britain’s security, they would reverse their plans to cut the Army by 10,000 troops.”

Notes:

• Funding by area provided through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus/ukspf-allocations
• Details of the the projects that were funded by the 2022-2025 allocation of the UKSPF in Mid Sussex can be found here: https://www.midsussex.gov.uk/about-us/press-releases-and-publications/mid-sussex-secures-1-million-from-shared-prosperity-fund/