Northumberland Labour says the government’s levelling up plans and loans for people to meet their energy bills amount no more than crumbs after years of deliberate underfunding.

Northumberland Labour leader Scott Dickinson said: “The statements from our Prime Minister saying he is concentrating on delivering the wishes of the British people would be laughable if they didn’t mean misery for so many people.

“Apparently delivering what the British people want is nearly four million children living in poverty, people choosing between heating and eating, a growing number of people relying on foodbanks and people who rely on their pets for companionship and good mental health being forced to give them up or miss meals themselves.

“If this is delivering what the British people want it is truly shameful and goes to show how totally out of touch this government is.

“The government has spent the last 11 years deliberately cutting local authority budgets in counties like ours, eroding conditions of employment and pay and plunging many families into poverty.

“And yet we are supposed to be grateful for the crumbs being thrown to us. This state of affairs should never have happened and, given that the government has a duty of care to the people it serves, it has let them down monumentally.

“The safety net of the welfare state is being removed and people are supposed to rely on charities and food banks as their safety net. This is uncivilised in what is supposed to be a civilised society.

“It is absolutely shameful and, with the hike in energy bills, it is an extremely worrying time for many people. The best the government can do is to lend people the money while energy companies make obscene profits. The government and business do not care about ordinary people.

“We will be working in the council and nationally to hold this government to account. This situation needs to change and we will work tirelessly in the interests of Northumbrians to address this desperate situation.”