Politics, International Relations & Philosophy

Dr Philip Catney, a member of the Keele European Parties Research Unit (SPIRE/ Research Institute for Law, Politics and Justice), participated in a BBC Radio Stoke debate on the impact of funding cuts and job losses in the North Staffordshire region.

With projected job losses in Stoke-on-Trent City Council of over 1,000 (almost a quarter of its total staff) over the next few years, Philip gave an overview of the factors that led to the current financial crisis in local government funding, where the cuts will possibly be felt deepest and debated alternative ways forward for local authorities in the future, with a senior officer from Stoke-on-Trent City Council and a representative from the trade union Unison.