Conservatives call out Labour-run Cheshire West and Chester Council’s 2025/26 Budget in effort to improve impact on residents
Following another packed Budget Council meeting on Thursday 20 February 2025, the Cheshire West and Chester Conservative Group successfully took the Labour administration to task over failures in service delivery and financial planning for the 2025/26 financial year.
Cllr Charles Hardy (Tarporley, Con), Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance and Legal, responding to the budget, said:
“I have read the 2025–2026 Budget proposals with a feeling of utter disdain. It is complete wishful thinking and make believe. This budget states that there is a funding gap in the next financial year to the sum of £49 million. We are informed this funding gap will be bridged by making cuts to the sum of £29 million and by raising £20 million in additional locally generated income from Council Tax and Business Rates.
“The only reality is that Cheshire West and Chester residents are going to suffer a Council Tax increase whilst seeing a reduction in services provided by the Council. Yet again, it will be the least advantaged in our Borough who will suffer the most due to the total incompetence of this Labour Council. Too many have already lost their Winter Fuel Allowance and the rise in Employers National Insurance is already leading to a rise in unemployment. Yet this Council proposes increasing their Council Tax by a whopping 4.99% - again!
“And what, residents ask, are they getting for the extra £650 per year they pay in Council Tax compared to when the Conservatives ran the Council? Less and less.”
Cllr Simon Eardley (Saughall and Mollington, Con), Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways & Transport and Conservative Group Deputy Leader, homed in on the failures around road safety and highways investment by explaining afterward:
“Tonight, our amendments and budget speeches focused on the many failures of the council to invest in our highways.
“We put forward credible and fully funded amendments to reduce speeds outside local schools to 20mph, as well as clearing pavements and gulleys much more regularly, but instead of working collaboratively and cross-party, our sensible and reasonable suggestions were thrown back in our faces, even if they eventually agreed with our position on road safety around schools through gritted teeth.
“While local Conservative councillors do not have a monopoly on good ideas, the Labour group seems to have one on bad ideas!”
Cllr Adrian Waddelove (Farndon, Con), Conservative Group Leader, finished by saying:
“Tonight's Budget meeting demonstrated that after ten years of leading Cheshire West and Chester Council, the Labour administration has well and truly run out of steam - to the point where Labour councillors don't even know what service cuts they are voting for.
“Cheshire West already has the 32nd highest Council Tax in the country, yet Labour Councillors voted to pile another 4.99% rise on top of that, while voting down our amendments to cleanse and maintain more gullies annually, as well as pavements, and to provide support for safer walk routes to school.
“Nonetheless, the fact that Labour councillors couldn’t even bring themselves to vote for these sensible and practical measures shows how ideologically opposed they are to supporting other groups.
“Now, with 10 years of consecutive maximum Council Tax rises, the only spare change left in people’s pockets after 10 years of Labour mismanagement is the change residents are going to make in May 2027 and return the Council to being resident focused under a new administration.”