Birmingham Council’s leader warned of the “end of local government as we know it” yesterday after saying Britain’s biggest local authority will be forced to slash 1,000 more jobs this year.

Labour-controlled Birmingham City Council has already reduced its staffing by a third since 2010 as Westminster Tories squeeze its budget.

Sir Albert Bore said last year that the council faced “enormous financial challenges,” but prospects had become even worse because of government cuts to funding up to 2018.