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Regional daily depicts Osborne as Scrooge after planned cuts blow

A seasonal depiction of George Osborne as Scrooge was used to illustrate a regional daily’s front page story about planned health cuts.

The Gazette, Blackpool, portrayed the Chancellor as the main character of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol after it was revealed the seaside resort could lose a third of its public health budget from central Government.

A proposed new funding formula would mean nearly £7m is slashed from Blackpool Council, reducing the annual budget to £11m in 2016/17.

Another £1.3m is expected to be lost during the current financial year from public health as part of national savings of £200m announced by Mr Osborne in June.

Blackpool Scrooge

Explaining the idea for Friday’s front page, pictured above, Gazette deputy editor Andy Sykes said: “We were faced with a extremely good story that has huge implications for Blackpool and the Fylde coast but with no obvious way of illustrating it, without using dull headshots and file images.

“So we came up with the idea that we hoped would leap off the news stands and grab the attention of our readers.

“Blackpool health leaders are unequivocal in their view of what this budget cut will mean for Blackpool and its people. One described it as set to ’cause untold human misery’.

“The resort is always in top 10 lists when it comes to negative health stories – smoking while pregnant, alcohol dependency, life expectancy. Yet the government is proposing to cut even more money from budgets that desperately need it, thus exacerbating pre-existing issues everyone is all too aware of.

“So our depiction of Osborne as Scrooge is both seasonally topical and accurate we would suggest.”

Last week it was announced the Oil and Gas Authority had awarded 93 new licences to explore potential fracking sites across the UK mainland.

The controversial shale gas extraction process is a big issue for The Gazette’s patch, where energy company Cuadrilla is trying to get approval to frack at two sites.

Andy added: “It is also worth noting the Government has been accused of underhand tactics with regards to a vote on fracking beneath national parks and beauty spots – a vote which has massive repercussions for this area and wider Lancashire – by arranging a paper vote, thus avoiding a debate in the Commons.

“With threats to the Freedom of Information Act continuing, it is even more important now than ever that we try to hold people like Osborne and ‘call me Dave’ to account.”

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  • December 21, 2015 at 8:18 pm
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    Ho ho ho! That’s what we need….bright ideas.

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