LABOUR and opposition councillors traded barbs and accused each other of “playing politics” with people’s lives before a vote that approved Islington’s annual budget.

Outgoing finance chief Labour councillor Diarmaid Ward presented a spending packet that, he said, protects frontline services and includes £200million over two years for homelessness support and prevention.

He criticised the opposition’s proposed budget amendment as a “back of the envelope hodgepodge”.

But Green councillor Benali Hamdache hit back, saying that cuts to charity grants, a review of youth services and scaling back of Christmas lights made this budget a “dark evening” for Islington.

He said: “Our Labour colleagues have told us things would get better when we have a Labour government – well here we are, and things are worse.

“Another £10m worth of cuts is an insult to every Labour voter who backed a vision for change.”

Referring to the government’s announcement last week that it would be cutting international aid to fund defence spending, Cllr Hamdache added: “How long before Labour learns that you don’t make the world safer by starving kids?”

Opposition councillors’ amendment to the budget – which was voted down – included a proposal to increase parking charges for heavier and more polluting vehicles and put funding behind new staff roles to support parents of children and young people with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), some of whom are currently waiting up to three years for diagnoses and care plans.

But Cllr Ward criticised the amendments, calling out the opposition for submitting them just seven days before the meeting.

“You can’t play politics with people’s lives and people’s lifelines,” he said.

Labour councillors also took aim at the four Independent councillors who were elected for Labour but have since left the party, citing grievances with Sir Keir Starmer’s response to Israel’s actions in Palestine, the party’s treatment of Jeremy Corbyn and the two-child benefit cap. They now sit with Islington’s three Green councillors as part of the Independent and Green Group.

After telling how Islington’s children’s services are the best funded in London, Labour councillor Bashir Ibrahim said: “Our opposition have a choice to make. Do you back our children and young people or do you play politics?

“If you’re looking for any deficits tonight, there’s a demo­cratic deficit on those benches over there, so do the decent thing and resign.”

In response, Independent councillor Phil Graham said he would not spend time “slagging off” long-time council colleagues in the chamber, and instead levelled criticism at Sir Keir’s leadership, saying: “For a Labour government to enter into an austerity that George Osborne would blush at is truly appalling to watch.”

Despite this, Councillor Graham was the only non-Labour councillor to say yes to the budget, which was approved in a vote in the council chamber.