A SENIOR Labour politician has criticised his Conservative counterpart for failing to lobby Prime Minister David Cameron against council cuts during a visit to Downing Street.

Darlington Borough Council’s Conservative leader, Councillor Heather Scott, met Mr Cameron to discuss the Government’s new Localism Bill, which will give councils more powers in an attempt to strengthen local democracy.

But the Labour council’s leader, Councillor John Williams, said Coun Scott should have used the meeting to highlight huge public spending cuts in the town.

The council is being forced to slash 20 per cent of its budget over the next four years, due to Government spending cuts.

Coun Scott said her party would use the Bill to aid business development and reduce salaries of high paid council officials in Darlington.

She said: “By putting an end to the hoarding of power within central government and the top-down control of communities, they will allow local people the freedom to run their lives and neighbourhoods in their own way.

“In Darlington, the Conservative group is determined to use the powers granted in the new Localism Bill to benefit our town.

“We have already said we want proper targets for new business development and would seek to use the planning system to achieve this.

“Under the Bill we can also get a grip of the high cost of senior officers, 61 of whom earn more than £50,000 in Darlington.”

But Coun Williams said: “Coun Scott should have used this opportunity of meeting David Cameron to lobby him about the huge cuts in public spending that the coalition Government is imposing on Darlington.

“As it is, Coun Scott’s statement is full of errors.”

Coun Williams added: “Most of the ‘61 senior officers’ who earn more than £50,000 are teachers in Darlington schools.

“The council has no control over their salaries – they are set nationally and by schools themselves.”