The leader of Harrow Council has called on the Government to reverse a “disastrous” policy of austerity which, he believes, has seriously damaged local authorities.

Cllr Graham Henson was among those to sign an open letter urging the Government to end a period of “uninterrupted” cuts to services at council-level.

In the letter, the signatories highlight the impact of these cuts to frontline service and they noted the need for urgent change.

“Budget restrictions – in the form of direct cuts and budget pressures – have meant losses of almost 50 per cent for councils across the country,” it read.

“This has had disastrous knock-on impacts for services, as the stop-gaps that were once in place to prevent destitution have been stripped back.

“Already, a number of councils have cut their services to a statutory minimum, with more likely to follow in the coming months and years.”

It referenced the Local Government Association’s (LGA) prediction that councils will have lost 77 per cent of their budget by 2020.

And it included a point by Gary Porter, Conservative chairman of the LGA, who believes there will be a £5.8 billion funding-gap for councils across the UK.

“We won’t be cleaning the streets, we won’t be cutting the grass, we won’t be putting streetlights on at all, your libraries will go, your potholes won’t get filled up,” he said.

Cllr Henson has frequently bemoaned the restrictions imposed on his council and said it has been forced to make drastic cutbacks to cope with these.

The letter said such measures have “inevitably” led to a decline in life expectancy and an increase in the use of food banks.

It also pointed out the “huge increase in crime” – a particular problem in London – and a rise in rough sleeping and homelessness.

To combat this, and other issues, the signatories asked for a ‘needs-based’ approach to funding, noting that each local authority has different priorities.

They also called for more freedom towards spending and want to set local taxes, retain local revenue and ensure that proceeds are kept in their respective areas.