ILKLEY’S Conservative MP Kris Hopkins has condemned Labour-led Bradford Council’s plans to strip Ilkley Literature Festival of support funding.

In a consultation document, the council is proposing to remove grant assistance of £11,178, from the widely-acclaimed event, despite it attracting large numbers of visitors and significant investment and tourism spend into the area.

Mr Hopkins has now written to Bradford Council Leader David Green to state his opposition to the move and to make clear his view that the proposal is part of an orchestrated campaign to redirect the local authority’s funding away from more affluent parts of the district.

The Conservative MP said:“It is outrageous and is very clearly part of a deliberate campaign to withdraw funding from wards not represented by Labour councillors. We saw this when we learnt that children’s centres in Keighley, Ilkley and Shipley were to be targeted with equivalent facilities in Bradford being left alone.

“The people of Keighley and Ilkley pay significant sums of money on Council Tax and, year on year, receive very little in return.

“Ilkley Literature Festival is rightly regarded as one of the finest events of its type in the country, as evidenced by the quality of writers and speakers it attracts year on year.

“It also brings very large sums of money into the district’s economy, estimated at 40 times the amount provided by Bradford Council.

“The festival’s well-earned reputation for excellence must not be put at risk by a gang of Labour councillors making decisions driven by political expediency.”

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council’s executive member for employment, skills and culture, said of the proposal: “It is no reflection on the quality of work of the Ilkley Literature Festival, who produce a fantastic programme every year, generating nearly a quarter of a million pounds worth of ticket sales.

“However it’s part of a package of £41 million in cuts and additional income which Bradford is being forced to make this year as part of the government’s austerity programme. We simply are not allocated sufficient money from central government anymore to support all the services we have done in the past.

“We are in the middle of a consultation period on the budget and I would encourage anyone with comments to write to Freepost RLTC-KEGA-JGRX, Bradford Council Budget Consultation, 5th Floor, Britannia House, Hall Ings, Bradford, BD1 1HX before the council sets its budget on Thursday, February 26.”