PARENTS who live in non-Labour areas are being discriminated against, a top councillor claimed last night.

Kirklees Council’s Labour Cabinet is running down children’s centres and libraries in wards where few voters support the party, according to a leading Tory.

Denby Dale Conservative Clr Jim Dodds believes areas without Labour councillors are being unfairly targeted for cuts.

“I appreciate we are in difficult financial times but the Labour administration is clearly hell-bent on looking after their own and entering the murky world of postcode politics, which I find unacceptable,” he said.

The Labour Cabinet is in the middle of implementing controversial changes to children’s centres and libraries in Kirklees.

The council hopes to save £1.4m by 2013 by reducing services at 17 Sure Starts in richer parts of the district.

Parents in those areas would have to travel to one of the 15 children’s centres in poorer parts of Kirklees to get the full range of services.

Clr Dodds said the Sure Starts being spared cuts were overwhelmingly in Labour-dominated areas.

“Ten of the 15 centres are in Labour wards,” he said.

“I accept that these centres were introduced to help in the most deprived areas, but deprived areas are not exclusive to Labour wards.

“We seriously need to revisit these proposals and produce a structure that accommodates the whole of Kirklees. The council’s aim should be to produce common standards of services accessible to all residents, not postcode rationing to suit the Labour Cabinet.”

The Conservative also believes the ruling party is discriminating in its library cuts.

The Cabinet plans to replace paid staff with volunteers at seven centres.

Clr Dodds said: “It is proposed that seven libraries are to become community-run and those in Denby Dale, Honley, Lepton, Slaithwaite and Shepley all happen to be in wards with no Labour councillors whatsoever.

“These libraries are largely in semi-rural wards, where services need to be maintained due to the geographical location of many of their residents.

“There has been no attempt to look at libraries in urban areas with a view to amalgamating some of them which are in close proximity. In my view this would make more sense.”

Clr Dodds added that the Labour Cabinet had not produced its reasons for running down the seven libraries.

“When I asked for details of the criteria used to decide which libraries would be community-run, the answer I got back was ‘the criteria used was verbal discussions between senior managers and Cabinet members’.

“In other words, there is no audit trail and no evidence for the public as to whether the correct libraries have been selected for this venture.”

KIRKLEES Labour Cabinet has proposed removing paid staff from libraries in Slaithwaite, Golcar, Honley, Lepton, Kirkheaton, Denby Dale and Shepley.

The seven Kirklees wards affected have eight Lib Dems, seven Conservatives, three Labour councillors, two independents and one Green.

This means 57% of the 14 Lib Dem councillors on Kirklees are due to lose a staffed library; 33% of the 21 Conservatives and 11% of the 27 Labour councillors.

THE Labour Cabinet has also proposed running down services at 17 children’s centres in 15 of the 23 wards of Kirklees.

The centres facing cuts are: Almondbury, Holmfirth, Meltham, Rawthorpe, Paddock, Lindley, Slaithwaite, Denby Dale, Kirkburton, Thornhill Lees, Flatts, Mirfield, Carlingow, Gomersal, Liversedge, Staincliffe and Batley East.

THE 15 Sure Starts which will keep full services are: Huddersfield town centre, Newsome, Birkby, Chestnut Centre at Sheepridge; Golcar, Crosland Moor, Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury Moor, Chickenley, Thornhill, Savile Town, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike and Batley Central.

The 15 wards facing Sure Start cuts have 18 Conservatives, 15 Labour councillors, eight Lib Dems, three independents and one Green.

The proposals would affect 85% of Conservative councillors, 57% of Lib Dems and 55% of Labour representatives.