City cancels bonfire night to focus finances on cost-of-living crisis

Soaring energy and food bills means local council says it has to axe all non-essential spending - inclduing fireworks

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One of England’s biggest cities has cancelled bonfire night because it says it needs to focus all its finances on dealing with the cost-of-living crisis.

Leeds has scrapped all six of its firework displays as it wrestles with budgetary pressures caused by soaring energy and food bills.

The cuts are part of the Labour-run council’s efforts to slash all “non-essential” spending in another sign of the problems being caused by growing inflation.

And it will be the third year in a row the West Yorkshire city has axed its 5 November celebrations after they were also spiked in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Councillor and cabinet member Salma Arif said it was a disheartening decision but one the authority could not avoid taking.

She stressed that Christmas events would not face the same binning.

She said: “We know that this news will come as a real disappointment to many people, and this disappointment is something that we share.

“The council continues to be committed to working with partners to ensure that significant community and cultural events will still be able to take place later this budget year and in the run up to Christmas.”

In a statement the authority added that restarting the bonfire events after the two-year absence would cost more than £200,000, although it did not explain how it had arrived at the figure.

It added: "The council is facing an increase in the cost of electricity, gas and fuel and given the costs associated with restarting bonfires this year would be in excess of £200k, the decision to cancel the displays has been taken due to the need to identify any non-essential spend."

Leeds is not the only place to have cancelled municipal bonfires – Harrogate in North Yorkshire has done likewise – but it is thought to be the UK’s biggest city to cancel all celebrations.

The displays would have been at East End Park, Roundhay Park, Woodhouse Moor, Springhead Park, Middleton Park and Bramley Park.