Those councils turning off some street lights

Alarmist report on Newsnight last night about some pretty modest plans by councils to reduce street lighting. "Street lighting was invented for a purpose," intoned Jeremy Paxman. The report asserted that any reduction in street lighting was "stark in its austerity." There were unsubstantiated claims by Labour MP Louise Ellman that street lights were being cut in "panic." She didn't say which councils she felt were conducting the cuts in "panic". Leicestershire council leader Cllr David Parsons pointed out that the decisions were taken after careful consideration and lengthy consultation with residents and the police.

But street lighting has become excessive. Opportunistic Lib Dems in Nottinghamshire, normally so keen to stress their green credentials, have opposed the Conservative council's modest plans to reduce street lighting.

Newsnight spoke to 72 councils and got the following results.

Councils turning off some lights

Dorset

Southwark

Suffolk

Buckinghamshire

North Somerset and Bristol

Nottinghamshire

Powys

Gloucestershire

Bath and North East Somerset

Peterborough City Council

Shropshire

Devon

Rutland County

Telford and Wrekin

Leicestershire

Stockton-on-Tees Borough

South Gloucestershire

Bridgend

Blaenau Gwent

Conwy

Pembrokeshire

Isle of Anglesey

Carmarthenshire

Ceredigion

Newport

Torfaen

Durham

Central Bedfordshire

Borough of Poole

Cornwall

East Sussex

West Sussex

Councils dimming some lights

Redcar & Cleveland Borough

Nottingham City Council

Plymouth City Council

Slough Borough

Southampton City Council

Monmouthshire

Hampshire

Lincolnshire

Surrey

Councils considering switch off/dimming

North Lincolnshire

North Yorkshire

Swindon Borough

Southend-on-Sea Borough

Brent

Neath Port Talbot County Borough

Cardiff

Gwynedd

Derbyshire

Kent

Hertfordshire

Worcestershire

Oxfordshire

Warwickshire

Councils not planning changes

Northumberland

Portsmouth City Council

Reading Borough

Barking and Dagenham

Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Luton

Conwy

Denbighshire

Milton Keynes

Isle of Wight

Blackpool Borough

Halton

Medway

City of York

East Riding

North East Lincolnshire

Lancashire

Northamptonshire

Cambridgeshire

Cumbria Staffordshire