UK Labour deputy ‘shocked’ by Oxfordshire fire service plans

Lucy Powell, who is also a Manchester MP, urged the county council to reconsider the proposals to close three fire stations and merge a further two.

In a letter to Oxfordshire County Council leader Liz Leffman, sent today (Tuesday, April 14), she said: “I would urge you to pause these cuts, engage with the Fire Brigades Union and the Government on alternative measures which protect jobs, and maintain the integrity of the fire service in Oxfordshire.”

READ MORE: Doors kicked and bins damaged in crime spree within historic Oxfordshire town

This comes as the proposals were withdrawn following protests.

Council leaders issued a statement on Monday, April 13, saying Eynsham, Henley and Woodstock stations will no longer close.

Eynsham fire station (Image: Google Maps)

And plans to replace Kidlington and Rewley Road (Oxford) stations with a new station in North Oxford are on hold.

The council said proposals relating to the building of a new fire station north of Oxford “will require further work before any decisions are made”.

READ MORE: Oxford Cardinal condemns ‘absurd’ Donald Trump’s ‘Jesus Christ’ image

In her letter to the Lib Dem Oxfordshire leader, Ms Powell claimed that “fourteen years of Conservative cuts to local authority and fire service budgets has left many areas operating on a shoe string”.

However, she said the UK Labour government is working to remedy this.

This includes through an immediate cash injection to local authority budgets, reviewing the funding formula for the fire services sector as well as reforming the governance and organisation of the services across the country.