“I have been proud to support John Burgess and all the Barnet UNISON members in the campaign against outsourcing these vital services, I have been on every picket line with them so far, and wish them well in the Employment Tribunal that started today.

“Barnet are on the front line of the savage cuts to Local Authority budgets that the conservatives are forcing on local councils, Barnet UNISON have been dealing with the consequences of the government’s deep cuts to local government funding. We need to listen more to local government and prepare to revitalise local government under Labour from 2020.

“This government have centralised power while devolving the pain inflicted by cuts to local councils. It is the most deprived communities in the country that are bearing the brunt of the government’s economically flawed programme. “We in the Labour movement must stand for strong, democratically accountable public services and support our councils in delivering them”