Cllr Heather Kidd said: “Working cross-party to find a way through this very serious financial position on Shropshire Council is an experience which has been both useful and frustrating. Useful because we were able to see the situation unfolding and frustrating because a number of past decisions (North West Relief Road and the shopping centres rebuild) put the precarious budget under even greater threat. Budget issues are not new, and it is a great pity we did not start this way of working with the new Council in 2021.
“Continuing with these projects will require ongoing investment and borrowing which the Council simply can’t afford.
“The MediumTerm Financial Strategy (MTFS) now is emphasising this year’s financial problem being down to the Labour Governments shift away from rural funding.
However, we were in deep trouble before this year’s settlement. Much of Shropshire Councils problems were self-made with a series of poor decisions on things we simply could not afford. This was made worse by 14 years of cut backs in local government funding by the Conservative Government.
“That past Government has also, bit by bit, relied on Council Tax paying for Social Care. Shropshire pays around 80% of our budget on that. We have a greater than average elderly population and so the costs are high.”
Cllr Roger Evans said:
“Had Shropshire Council invested its money on things which would reduce our overall spend then we may not be facing more years of cuts and savings.
“The refusal to come up with options for savings, details of service reductions and pressing ahead with the North West Relief Road (despite audit’s criticisms) mean that the Liberal Democrats can no longer support the budget for this coming year. We now withdraw from the process.”