City leader warns of 'civil unrest' over cuts

Coun Keith Wakefield (Lab) spoke out as council leaders across the region began working out where the axe would fall.

"This is a severe setback for young people and it could be a recipe for a lot of civil disobedience, though I am not saying people will be going on the streets to riot," he said.

"Around 5m that was ringfenced for education is going and I think it will be quite devastating for young people who are struggling to get into constructive and important activities. It is a massive setback.''

Transport is set to be hit with 3.1m slashed from its budget and Coun Wakefield said he feared the cutbacks were "just the beginnings''.

With the prospect of cuts leading to significant job losses, a union official has called for emergency discussions with Yorkshire local authority leaders.

Neil Derrick, GMB senior officer for public services in Yorkshire and North Derbyshire, said: "The Tories have hinted at cuts of 10 per cent but that would be a catastrophic reduction. In Leeds for example that would equate to four to five thousand jobs being lost alone.''

Coun Wakefield said he feared the figure would be much higher, adding: ''I think we are not talking 10 per cent over three years we are talking about 20 per cent.''

Coun Peter Box, leader of Wakefield Council, said: "This is clearly going to have an impact on the services that we provide for young people and a range of other residents throughout the district.

"There will also be a reduction of 1m in funding for highways schemes which will have a serious impact on our proposals for these road schemes.''

In Kirklees, 4m of cuts are looming with more than 2.6m set to go from the education budget, with an extra 1.2m being chopped from roads and transport and other reductions being forced elsewhere.

The impact is unprecedented as the cuts come into effect in the current financial year, severely affecting both schools and roads.

Council leader Coun Mehboob Khan said the reduction would have a major impact on local

people and was a betrayal of voters

"Education is an area which should be protected from cuts and in Kirklees our commitment to providing the best possible opportunities for young people is well established.

"Voters have been conned and it's a similar story with the roads and transport budget. This council rightly made road repairs a top priority and now the Government is taking away 1.2m.''

Becky Hellard, Bradford Council's strategic director of corporate services, said: "We still only know the generality, not the full detail of the new government's public spending cuts.

"The Government has released information to all councils today about reductions in external grants.

"This information confirms that the Government will cut its grant allocation to Bradford by 7.3m this financial year, 2010-2011.

Calderdale Council leader Janet Battye said it was "too early'' to tell how the cuts would affect that area.