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Here are three reasons why the Conservatives are on course to lose the next election.

And why they’ll deserve to as well - unless they realise things need to change.

This isn’t about Brexit. It’s about other things that directly affect the communities we live in.

First, there’s the continuing collapse of local services.

Just last week, the Government announced how much funding it was giving to local councils.

Take Newcastle as an example. The basic grant from Government (known as the Settlement Funding Assessment) will be £115 million between 2019 and 2020 - down from £156 million in 2016-17.

This cash comes from grants directly from the Treasury, and from a complex system in which business rates collected from local employers are distributed across the country.

And the money is still going down. Austerity hasn’t ended. Funding for this year is lower than last year.

(Image: PA)

At the same time, our council tax bills have increased faster than inflation, year after year.

It means services such as libraries and parks are cut. At the same time, tax bills go up, and authorities increase fees for things like car parking or replacement bins.

Second, violent crime is rising after years of cuts to the police.

The latest figures, published on January 24, show there were 88,979 violent crimes in the North East over 12 months. That includes the area served by Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland police forces.

To put it another way, there were an average of 1,711 violent crimes every week.

The figure is 26% higher than a year previously. Violent crime rose by more than a quarter in one year.

It follows years of cuts in police funding, which means there are fewer police officers to protect us.

Police cuts may not directly cause rising crime.

But at the very least, they mean police are less able to respond to incidents, catch those responsible and keep the rest of us safe.

Third, there is a crisis of homelessness and rough sleeping in this country.

New figures last week showed there are 66 people forced to sleep on the streets in the North East.

That’s up from 45 people two years ago.

The numbers are much higher in other parts of the country.

So in a sense, we can perhaps be pleased that a relatively small number of people in the North East are sleeping rough. But it’s still a disgrace that the numbers are going up.

Smarter Tories realise they have to tackle issues like these. At the next election, it won’t be enough simply to tell voters how terrible Jeremy Corbyn is (and Mr Corbyn may stand down before the election comes).

Brexit has overshadowed everything. That’s understandable.

But at some point the Conservative government needs to look at what else is happening in our towns and cities.

Otherwise it’s doomed.