A Tory councillor has criticised Derby City Council’s Labour leadership after it warned of “serious consequences” if its budget plans are not approved. Conservative councillor for Spondon Jonathan Smale has hit out at the council’s budget proposals ahead of some crucial meetings in the new year and accused the leadership of holding opposition parties “to ransom”.
The plans include increasing council tax by 4.99 per cent and the loss of more than 100 jobs at the city council in a bid to save up to £10 million. Most of the roles in line for the axe are vacant posts. However, the Labour-led council is planning a £31 million investment into essential services and a “significant contribution” back into its reserves pot.
The plans are currently at a public consultation phase and members of the public can have their say on the plans through the Let’s Talk Derby website. The consultation closes at midnight on Sunday, January 19.
Earlier this month council leader Nadine Peatfield told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) there could be “serious consequences” if the proposed budget could not be agreed on and fellow cabinet councillor Sarah Cambers told a meeting the council “could go under” if there was no agreement in February.
Labour controls Derby City Council following the local elections in 2023. But the group only has a minority leadership of the authority – meaning there are more elected opposition councillors in total than Labour within the council setup.
This means Labour will need some form of cross-party support to help get its budget approved. By law, councils must approve a balanced budget.
Councillor Peatfield said: “If the opposition do not agree with this budget, then there could be serious consequences. That is why I have made a plea for them to act responsibly as well. We’ve been responsible and made the difficult decisions.
“The hours we have put in to present and fine-tune this budget has been immeasurable. For other parties to come and say ‘we know better’ would be very hard to swallow.”
Not having a budget approved could see the council having to call an emergency meeting to find a solution. Or it could be financially restricted further down the line with spending powers temporarily suspended or the Government taking control of the authority’s finances.
But Councillor Smale, who is deputy leader of the city council’s Conservative group, hit out at the plans saying the council administration “must present a budget worth voting for”.
He said: “I find it incredible that the leader of the council is effectively holding the opposition councillors hostage over the state of their budget. We will not be held to ransom by the leadership’s threats to ensure their budget passes.
“Labour must present a budget worth voting for instead of deflecting responsibility onto other parties. They are in charge, and the responsibility lies with them to deliver a budget that meets the needs of Derby.
“It is also worth noting that when Labour was in opposition, they themselves voted down a budget. At the time, the consequences of that decision seemed to matter little to them.”
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