Of COURSE Labour run councils will be the hardest hit. They're the one's who've spent money the most wastefully.

MEN: Don't DARE make this a 'North/South divide' thing. Make this a 'Labour Government wasting your money for 13 years followed by Labour councils still doing it' thing.

Stop the Metrolink expansion & save millions at a stroke.

Poorer areas get more money, so if there are cuts across the board it stands to reason that poorer areas lose out more - they've got more to lose.

Poorer areas also tend to vote Labour.

It's not politically-motivated, it's just reality.

(Some of the) cuts are a shame, but remember it's Labour's debt that mean they have to be made in the first place. All that spending over recent years was "politically motivated," and it didn't work.

Look at the tables, not all of the worst hit are in the north, nor are the least affected all in the south east. If people in the north were working then they can pay council tax and reduce the defecit. Wake up and get on with life. More biased reporting.

So, spendthrift authorities (which are mostly Labour ones) are the ones being made to spend our money a bit more carefully. Sounds sensible enough to me.

Enjoy it while you can, you coalition losers; this, from Reuters, on a new MORI/Ipsos poll, indicates how out of touch you are with the people that matter - the electorate.

"If there was an election tomorrow, 38 percent of people say they would vote for the Conservatives, 39 percent for Labour and only 11 percent for the Lib Dems, down from the roughly 24 percent who voted for them in May."

The only 'pact' you share is a suicide one. So again, I predict: 'Out on your backsides by 2011...'

Why is the MEN so surprised at this news?All of the above named councils are predominately Labour ones and have therefore benefited from fourteen years of Labour munificence,the chickens are now coming home to roost and they will have to take the consequences,that,s how it goes!!!

South West Lib Dem stronghold in the clear I see.

Still the tories refuse to accept there was a global meltdown and instead blame labour. Funny really as there was no global meltdown when the tories sold of all our asests and took us into a recession.

Central Office must be up bright and early then today! Funny how Tory apologists ( and that takes some neck these days) are always so quick to log on and tell us its all very necessary and Labour's fault anyway. This rabble we are obliged to call a government ( for how long though?) have been engaged while in 13 years of bitter opposition, in the planning of the most vindictive and politically inspired assault on the social contract, which in any civilised society is backed by a range of public services. I recall our friend Mr Pickes' time in Bradford in the 80s, so don't tell me this is either 'intelligent' or 'fair' Of course it's an assault on Labour and the North. Its called kicking a man when he's down; and keeping on doing it till he's dead!

no mr lloydd so the Conservatives can help their friends in leafy Cheshire (Altrincham)?”

Save Noel!

Both posters below seem to have been reading too many Tory lies and smears.

Going back in time to 1997, extra public spenbding was absolutely necessary to revive large sections of the North, which had been left to rot under the Tories. It was also necessary to spend on the NHS and schools; patients waited 18 months to 2 years for operations back then, and thanks to Tory cuts there was a shortage of doctors and nurses (they have now axed the budget for training docs and nurses again... deja vu anyone?), while kids shared a book between 3 or 4 in leaky poorly maintained classrooms. That money had to be spent to put right what the Tories had damaged.

Fast forward a few years...

Labour's handling of the economy left us, by early 2008, with just about the lowest deficit as a percentage of GDP in the Western world.

Even today, at 67 per cent, it is lower than most other Western European countries. Its growth since 2008 is due to the need to bail out the banks, and the world recession which las led to them paying out more in benefits and receiving lower tax revenue (a situation which has occurred in every other Western country)

It amazes me, with all the evidence available, that there are still some who believe the lies about the economy and Labour. Unless of course they believe that Gordon Brown and Labour ran all the economies in the Western world... even the most devoted Tory spindoctor hasn't tried that one so far.

Enough of the spin attempts lads.

Cameron/Blair/Brown/Clegg etc are all many heads of the same beast and you lot that slag one off them off while praising the other one is laughable. The funny part is you all think that you are right with your facts and figures. I would like to go into details but the ministry of truth at the MEN wouldn't allow it.

If you want know what Labour Councils are up to the look at where I live. I used to live in Whitefield and now live in West Yorkshire. The local Council have replaced the wheely bins which were still in good order with new ones. My new bin was delivered this morning by a team of 8 men [yes 8 men]. Another team will call later to take away the old one. They then say the do not know how to make cutbacks without cutting front line staff etc. Get rid of the numpties making decisions like this would be a good start.

Perhaps it's the high spending labour councils that are seen as wasteful?

And Manchester has an asset they can always sell if they are short of money - it is called the airport.

M.E.N

I have to hand to you lot, you are as biased as The BBC. You fail to report on the obscene waste committed by spend-aholic labour run councils.

I'm fully behind what the coalition are doing, even though I stand to be affected by the cuts. Times of need, time to ADJUST lifestyle! Easy to say, but a harsh lifestyle that EVERYONE will have to accept!

What do you expect from the Tories? They are evil southernists who don't give a toss about anything up north - too far from London. They could stop taxpayer funding of Crossrail, Underground upgrades which seem to be like the forth rail bridge that they are never ending, stop taking northern Business rates to subsidise southern councils (introduced to keep the tory poll tax low). Stop subsidising private companies such as the private railways, private bus companies, the power stations, MP's £400 a month food allowance, and prosecute tax avoiders such as Tory Donor Green (and several cabinet ministers). It's about time the north of England was given devolution or full independence from London. Lets build a wall to keep southernors out.

The Coalition Government is crippling the country and the sooner they are removed, the better it will be!!! I hope all those who voted for this Government are happy now?!!

Surely the spending records of Councils would have been considered,and also whethyer they had spent their multi-millions issued by Government for the benefit of the Constituents.
Lets have a list of the individual numbers employed by each Council and the total salary expenditure,especially Heads of departments and Executives.
Some Councils have been dramitically increasing their Council employees over the past 10 years with little benefit to the public services,so as a long term Labour Supporter who recognised the absolute vast waste,I reckon Labourites now coming out in total condemnation should start making objective conclusions based on facts past and present.

I think the quality of these on line 'debates' might be improved if the MEN moderators required posters to work with real names, not pen names. It's too easy to come up with silly, offensive or just plain stupid comments when you hide behind some silly pseudonym!

Not much comment when Labour poured money into these areas simply to catch votes.

I work for a private firm in the same building as the local council workers in Openshaw in manchester,its disgraceful half the council workers sit in the kitchen from about 10 onwards watching videos till they finish at 5.Whilst our blokes are lucky to get their break.Im afraid the people on here who think its a north south thing are deluded.Manchester and Liverpool have been run for years by amateurs unfortunatley they happenned to be in the hot seat when the credit crunch came along and we are now paying the cost.The left and right are both a joke so please dont use this site as an agenda to defend your pathetic parties.

It would be more appropriate, and honest, if you stressed right at the start, rather than a little reference half way through the full page spread, that Council Tax is not included in your figures. And, perhaps, rather than the extraordinarily large map, depicting the skewed story you wish to stress, (also shown on the front page), print another map beside it showing the layout if the figures included Council Tax.

These cuts are simply an attack on our city. It's being punished for not voting Tory, probably as a result of us remembering the effect of previous Tory economic shock policies which resulted in massive unemployment, the start of the benefits culture and the destruction of manufacturing across GM.

Come on MEN, lets get real. Poorer areas that have had their economies propped up by artificially high, unsustainable government spending are obviously the ones that are going to be hit hardest.

Its simple economics, you trim the most surplus to requirement fat off first.

And I am no, nor will I ever be, a Tory voter.