BASINGSTOKE and Deane leader Councillor Andrew Finney is part of a campaign by council chiefs to take Chancellor George Osborne to task over double-whammy plans to target draconian cuts on the south east and east of England while directing measures to support growth elsewhere.

Cllr Finney, along with nine other town hall leaders in the south, south east and east, has signed up to a joint letter which urges Mr Osborne and his Coalition Government colleagues to rethink part of their economic strategy.

In last month’s Budget speech, the Coalition Government unveiled a three-year scheme exempting new firms from the first £5,000 of National Insurance contributions for up to 10 staff in their first year of work.

As reported in The Gazette, Conservative Cllr Finney criticised the idea as it would not apply in London, the south east and east. The Government has said it wants to narrow the north-south prosperity divide.

The joint letter from the south, south east and east of England councillors, which has Cllr Finney as its lead signatory, states: “We are extremely concerned cuts in public investment are being unduly targeted at these areas, while measures to support growth are being directed elsewhere. This runs the risk of hampering the economic potential of these productive areas.

“We understand and support your need to reduce the deficit, given current levels of public sector debt. We also recognise your need to balance a range of differing interests in addressing this problem.

“Our fears on cuts are not motivated by political interest and this is not a case of special pleading. Rather, we believe there is a strong case that investment in the south east and east of England delivers greatest benefit for the economy as a whole.”

The letter continues: “Put bluntly, the country cannot afford to subsidise unproductive areas while starving the productive ones of investment.”

Cllr Finney told The Gazette that the letter came out of “a shared concern about the future of investment” in the south, south east and east, and he hopes it will open up a dialogue with the Government.

He said Government support for business is vital in upgrading and maintaining the road and rail networks around Basingstoke, and in improving broadband capability.

But Cllr Finney denied the letter put him on a collision course with the policies of his own Conservative Party.

He said: “My role is to champion the needs of those who elected me here, and that’s the local businesses and those who rely on the local businesses for their livelihoods and their local prosperity.”