Last week at the Budget Full Council Meeting, Labour-run Calderdale Council set its Budget for 2025/26. The Conservative Group proposed an alternative Budget that aimed to prioritise the needs of local residents while responding responsibly to the challenging economic climate.
Labour, Liberal Democrat, and Green Councillors voted down the Conservative Opposition Budget.
The Conservative Budget would have limited the Council Tax rises to 3.5% compared to the Labour Budget’s 5% increase. Our Proposal aimed to prevent further financial strain on local residents during these difficult times.
Alongside this, the Conservative Budget proposed to make some tough but necessary cost-saving decisions to help repair the Council’s vulnerable financial position.
Our Budget included supporting the local economy in the short-term by proposing to stop Labour’s planned increase in parking charges and laying the foundation for long term economic growth through our education proposals.
The Conservative Budget offered Calderdale’s Residents a responsible and effective alternative to Labour – whose Budget will cost local residents more with continued significant increases to Council Tax and cuts to public services.
Conservative Budget Headlines
- Remove the Labour Cabinet’s further planned targeted increases to Parking Charges that will raise £700,000.
- Reintroducing funding for local Christmas trees, lighting, and local switch-on events, which the Council stopped funding last year.
- A mitigated 3.5% increase to Council Tax. This is 1.5% less than the Labour Cabinet Proposal of a 5% increase in Council Tax.
- Committed to building at least one of the Primary Schools in the Garden Communities across Rastrick and Brighouse and would prioritise this investment in future budgets beyond this MTFP period.
- Develop a comprehensive strategy of the Adult Education System in Calderdale. The purpose will be to identify opportunities, and to increase the number of academic and technical qualifications held by local residents.
- Senior Management Review - The current annual cost for the 23-member senior management team, including base salaries, pension contributions, and national insurance, totals £3,130,890.52, with a average cost of £136,125.68 per employee. The proposal targeted a reduction equivalent to two full-time employees (FTEs)
- Workforce Review to reduce the workforce by 2% in the first year of the budget, this increases to 3% in the second year and 4% in the final year - current total employment expenditure stands at £114.4m for the year, which represents 50% of the total Budget
- £2.5m added to the Council’s Reserves - which would build the Council’s financial resilience and safeguard against future economic shocks.
- Undertake a Review of Council Spending and Commercialisation opportunities will be undertaken. This Review will look at the current allocation of funds to Local and National organisations and ensure these expenditures deliver tangible benefits to Calderdale residents. This will also focus on maximising the revenue potential of public assets. For example, Halifax Town Hall will be made more readily available for private hire events, which will generate income for the Council.
National Context
Our local Conservative Budget was produced under the context that the Labour Government has taken a wrecking-ball to the British Economy.
This is despite them inheriting in July 2024 the fastest growing economy in the G7, inflation back at the Bank of England target of 2% and employment levels at record highs – We are now on the verge of stagflation after just 7 months of this Labour Government.
Under Labour, the most recent growth figure from quarter 4, 2024, show the economy grew by 0.1 per cent, whilst inflation has increased to 3%.
Furthermore, economic growth forecasts have recently been halved by the Bank of England to 0.75% for 2025, jobs are being cut at the fastest rate in nearly four years, and excluding the pandemic, these are the worst job-losses since the 2009 financial crisis.
This all boils down to some mystifying decisions by Labour since they took office which included over £40 billion in tax rises - History shows that tax rises of this magnitude never lead to sustainable economic growth.
