LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn attacked Government under-funding of social care during a visit to a lunch club in Bradford.

Mr Corbyn dropped into the Sandale Community Hub in Buttershaw today, where he met elderly and disabled people worried about the future of their care.

This week, Bradford Council said it was having to cut £8m from its annual care bill as part of an £82m package of savings over four years.

The authority has said it plans to reform care by focusing on preventative work, which should cut costs without harming the service people get.

Asked why all authorities couldn’t do the same, Mr Corbyn said: “It depends what the real cost and saving is. I don’t blame Bradford Council for having innovative ideas about how it would manage the care service.

“The reality is, Bradford, like all other councils, is under-funded on social care.”

He said this often had "devastating" consequences, with many women giving up jobs to look after relatives who should be looked after by public services, or frail elderly people having to stay in hospital for longer than necessary because of a lack of social care.

Last month, Labour committed to keeping the triple-lock on pensions, which guarantees a rise of 2.5 per cent, inflation or wage growth, whichever is greater, but which some have said is unaffordable.

Asked whether his party’s commitment to the triple-lock overlooked the financial struggles of younger generations, Mr Corbyn said: “It’s not an either-or. It’s not inter-generational rivalry.

“The triple-lock was put there for a reason. That was to protect the living standards of pensioners, which are not great anyway.”

Mr Corbyn, who arrived in Bradford by train, also backed calls for the city to be included on HS3, the planned new high-speed line between Leeds and Manchester.

He said Bradford was “poorly served by rail services” and should be included on the high-speed rail network.

He said: "It's a great idea, a huge opportunity, but unless it serves the big cities in this country, of which Bradford is one, then many people would say what's the point of it?

"Obviously Bradford should be on the system."

Labour’s Bradford South MP Judith Cummins, who joined Mr Corbyn for the visit, said people had talked to him on a variety of topics, from social care and pensions to education.

Disabled Buttershaw resident Lea Bentley, 61, who was wearing a Jeremy Corbyn t-shirt, said she feared for the future of the home care service she relied on.

She said: “Most of us have carers and we are really worried about what the council is having to do.”

Another Buttershaw resident, 62-year-old Lindsey Bradshaw, said he was concerned about capacity in local schools, especially at sixth form level.

He described himself as a floating voter and said: “Jeremy Corbyn is a very amiable person. I don’t necessarily think he’s the right person to lead the Labour Party.

“I’d like to see somebody more electable.”

MORE TOP STORIES