Dudley Council passed a motion calling for a fair deal for the town after seeing its funding plummet by £76 million since the coalition came to power in 2010.

Angry Labour councillors declared that enough is enough at a meeting of the full council on Monday with stark warnings about further cuts to its services if funding levels from Westminster continue to be slashed. There were also claims that Tory strongholds in the south east were not seeing the same level of cuts in funding.

The authority has made a series of cuts in recent years, including shutting Dudley’s museum and art gallery. Councillor Asif Ahmed, ward member for St James’, Dudley, who brought the motion, said:

“This council has done the best it possibly can with the financial resources available to it. If the Government continues in this manner we will soon be in a position where we can only provide statutory services”.

Council leader Pete Lowe added:

“The council is in a very difficult financial position and we all know that cuts have to be made, but the truth is that Dudley is being subjected to much deeper cuts than elsewhere across the country.”

The motion was carried despite being opposed by most of the Conservative councillors, including opposition leader, Councillor Patrick Harley, who dismissed the motion as 'as political grandstanding'.