Liz McInnes calls on government to think again about severe cuts to fire service in Greater Manchester

Liz McInnes, Labour Member of Parliament for Heywood and Middleton

Liz McInnes, MP for Heywood and Middleton, is calling on the government to think again about severe cuts to the fire service in Greater Manchester which could result in the loss of hundreds of firefighters.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority faces cuts of £14 million in the next four years, on top of £26 million of cuts suffered since 2010. 400 firefighters have been lost in that time, and hundreds more face redundancy if the latest cuts go ahead.

Rochdale Online reported last week that more than 1,200 firefighters could be made redundant and asked to reapply for their jobs under a new contract if agreement regarding new shift patterns cannot be reached.

Ms McInnes said: “I am deeply concerned at reports of mass redundancies for firefighters in our region. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority is receiving criticism for their handling of these latest cuts and the change to a new shift pattern and I share much of that frustration. However, we must not lose sight that it is the government policy of austerity, ideological and unnecessary, which is putting Fire and Rescue Authorities here and across the country in these increasingly impossible positions.

“Our local Fire and Rescue Service has suffered huge cuts in the last six years and now the Conservative government are forcing more. This is not sustainable. I have written to Brandon Lewis MP, the government's Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, to raise my urgent concern regarding these cuts and I call on him now to think again.

“I have been in touch with local Fire Brigades Union representatives to offer my full support. Our firefighters deserve respect and thanks for the work they do. They save lives and provide an invaluable service to our communities on a daily basis, and they need to be able to focus on that work without the threat of redundancy and with the resources and staffing they need.”