Bucks County Council only wants a unitary council so it can “get its hands on the reserves of the district councils”, the Bucks Labour Party has claimed.

Earlier in the week, Bucks County Council leader Martin Tett told the Bucks Free Press that running five different councils has meant the county council “doesn’t have the money” to repair roads.

However his comments have been branded “pathetic” by the Bucks Labour Party, who say blaming the two-tier council system for not being able to fix the county’s roads is a “lame excuse.”

A spokesman for Bucks Labour Party has hit back at Cllr Tett’s comments, blaming BCC’s inability to pay for fixing the roads on the reduction of government grants and their “failure” to balance its budget. 

The county council’s roads budget currently stands at £15 million, but will decrease to £12 million in 2017/18 and then down to £10 million from 2018.

They said: “All the councils in Bucks - BCC and the five district councils - are Tory dominated. If they are inefficient, then it’s about time the Tories got to grips and provided an efficient system.

"We need an open and independent analysis of the problems and recommendations. Instead we get umpteen reviews by the different Councils all at taxpayers’ expense because none of them trust the other.”

They added: “The draconian reduction in grants that all councils are facing due to a Tory government ideologically hooked on austerity.

"So long as people continue to vote for the Tories who believe in low taxes and minimal public services, then we will have potholes and roads that cause damage to cars and accidents.  

“Cuts have consequences.”