Warwickshire County Council fails to agree tax rise

7 hours ago

Simon GilbertPolitical Reporter, Coventry and Warwickshire, in Warwick

News image — Leader of Warwickshire County Council George Finch hit out at the other parties over their attempts to raise council tax by more than his party proposed

BBC George Finch leans against a wall. He is wearing a navy jacket and purple toe and white shirt. A sign to the right of the image reads "Leader of the Council" — Leader of Warwickshire County Council George Finch hit out at the other parties over their attempts to raise council tax by more than his party proposed

Warwickshire County Council has failed to agree how much its council tax will rise by this year.

The local authority was unable to agree its budget during a meeting of the full council at Shire Hall, in Warwick, on Thursday.

Councillors will meet again to try and pass its financial plans on 17 February.

The decision has been deferred after the budget proposed by Reform's leadership was voted down by Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors.

That budget would have seen a council tax rise of 3.89% - roughly £71 extra for a Band D property.

But the Greens, Liberal Democrats and Labour sought a 4.99% rise, while the Conservatives proposed a 4.89% rise.

Sarah Boad addresses the full meeting of Warwickshire County Council. She wears a red jumper while standing. Either side of her are councillors seated on red leather chairs with wooden panelling visible. — Councillor Sarah Boad, deputy leader of the Lib Dem group argued that the full tax rise would allow investment in services that helped prevent increased costs

During the meeting, which ran for more than 10 hours, Councillor Sarah Boad, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group, accused Reform of being "reckless in the absolute extreme" by not seeking the maximum 4.99% rise allowed without triggering a referendum.

She argued it would allow more investment in services that could reduce financial pressure on the council in future years.

But Reform's council leader George Finch hit out at the other parties, saying the public were "fed up of political parties automatically assuming that each year you can afford the maximum council tax hike".

"Residents' pay cheques from work don't increase by 5% every year, so how on Earth can they afford a 5% tax hike every year?" he said.

Adrian Warwick addresses the full meeting of Warwickshire County Council. He wears a blue suit while standing. Either side of him are councillors seated on red leather chairs with wooden panelling visible. — Councillor Adrian Warwick's Conservative group had backed a 4.89% rise

Conservative opposition leader Councillor Adrian Warwick accused Reform of putting forward an "unsustainable" budget.

He said: "Do you know the worst thing we could do for you? Vote for your budget.

"Because you would then have to deliver on something that is going to be unsustainable."

A late attempt to pass a joint Green and Liberal Democrat budget, with support from Labour councillors and an independent councillor, was voted down by the Conservatives and Reform.

That would have seen a 4.99% rise - adding roughly £91 a year to a Band D property.

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