Picking Up the Pieces
Since the local elections on 1 May 2025, the new Liberal Democrat administration has been working hard to steer Shropshire Council in a fresh and more accountable direction. But let’s be honest – we didn’t inherit a blank slate or a truly balanced budget as the last administration would have us believe.
The last two weeks have been a significant period for several reasons.
Today, Shropshire Council’s full council meeting received two papers: the Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) and the administration’s priorities, titled A New Direction for Shropshire.
Tomorrow, Audit & Governance committee gets a paper from their External Auditors, which is very damning of the previous council’s performance. External Audit Letter on Financial Position Based on Period 4. The letter from Grant Thornton to Shropshire Council highlights significant concerns about the Council’s financial sustainability.
The Corporate Peer Challenge lays bare the scale of the challenge. Years of Conservative leadership had left behind entrenched practices, a lack of transparency, and a Council culture that was out of step with the needs of our communities. Officers were operating under procedures shaped by the previous administration’s priorities, and “business as usual” was no longer fit for purpose.
CPC Key findings
- Financial Distress: Shropshire Council is in severe financial difficulty, with its general fund reserves forecast to be nearly exhausted by the end of 2025/26
- Governance Issues: disconnection right across the council
- Cultural Challenges: workforce is fractured, with low morale and a perception of inequality between departments
- Performance Strengths: recognising the council’s hard work
- Leadership and Relationships issues
- Poor Contract Management
Financial Reality Check
The Period 4 Financial Monitoring Report presented to Cabinet on 10 September 2025 confirmed what many of us feared: the Council’s financial position had deteriorated to the point of being potentially illegal by year-end if not urgently addressed. As a result, at the last Cabinet, we declared a Financial Emergency. The council is now forecasting an £-890,000 balance at year end. It should be £15-20m in the black!
GROSS Conservative miss-management
It seems the last Conservative run Council were asleep at the wheel. Making poorly judged cuts without using any judgement – cutting services which actually generated money for the council. Poor oversight, and year after year after year of undelivered savings have taken their toll on finances.
There can be no doubt that successive governments have screwed Shropshire with under funding. This has been an issue for decades. Shropshire has an ageing population. Service delivery costs are high for a large rural county. All factors governments ignore when passing out national money to councils. But the sheer scale of the poor judgement, poor monitoring of performance and budgets, bad strategic decision making has brought Shropshire Council to the brink of ruin.
The Conservatives made a challenging national funding position far, far worse. At present they claim to have delivered a balanced budget. They did, but only by including undeliverable savings and by taking out a short-term loan in March. The budget agreed in January by the Conservatives requires £60m savings of which £25m were undelivered savings carried over from the previous year. This has happened 4 years in a row. The compound effect shouldn’t be under estimated.
A hair’s bredth from bankruptcy.
If the Chief Financial Officer decides that there is no hope of avoiding an illegal negative revenue balance at the end of the year, they will immediately issue an s114 notice and call in government commisioners to run the council. Members aren’t involved in that decision at all.
If commissioners come they will axe every discretionary service and council tax will go up massively. Local members will have no say.
External Auditors have taken a dim view and highlighted the repeated failure of Shropshire Council to address their previous concerns – echoed in the CPC report.
A gross failure by any measure. Shropshire residents should rightly feel very angry with the Conservatives.
Council staff and members are working hard to fix this avoidable mess
The CPC does point out the great work of the council. We also recognise the great efforts of officers to meet this unprecedented challenge. Officers are working extremely hard at the coal face with limited resources. The new administration and officers are working tirelessly to turn this situation around to avoid commissioners coming in to run the council.
I am extremely grateful to officers for their efforts. Also to all council members from every party in their determination to fix this problem quickly. There is no time to waste. Business as usual is no longer acceptable.
Chief Executive leaves the Council
Last week, the Chief Executive left the council: Shropshire Council chief executive to stand down
A New Chapter Begins
With the Liberal Democrats now in control for the first time at Shropshire Council, we’ve set out a bold new vision and our achievements for the first 100 days of control. The Council paper outlines a three-stage plan:
- Improvement Plan – responding to the Corporate Peer Challenge.
- Corporate Plan – a comprehensive strategy for internal transformation.
- Partnership Plan – co-produced with communities and stakeholders to shape Shropshire’s future.
These plans are designed to balance short-term financial pressures with long-term sustainability. This is a high-level document that will shape the above plans and set the direction of the council.
The paper sets out achievements, so far, our priorities in each service area and some early targets. Including reforms within my planning portfolio.
What I’ve Been Up To
Since the election, I’ve been working hard to support and deliver on the administration’s priorities:
- Financial Recovery: I’ve contributed to budget discussions and supported efforts to align spending with our new values.
- Community Engagement: I’ve championed openness and helped ensure that residents have a voice in shaping local decisions.
- Planning Reform: I’ve backed the withdrawal of the old Local Plan and supported a new “call for sites” to better reflect community needs.
- Environmental Sustainability: I’ve advocated for climate-conscious infrastructure and policies that protect our natural environment.
Looking Ahead
We’re just getting started. The next steps include:
- Finalising the Improvement Plan.
- Engaging with partners to shape the Partnership Plan.
- Continuing to address the financial emergency while laying the groundwork for long-term transformation.
I’ll continue to keep you updated on progress and how these changes affect Whittington and the wider Shropshire area. If you’ve got questions or ideas, I’m always happy to hear from you.
