Tories call for leadership changes at town hall following scathing Best Value Inspection report

SENIOR Tories are calling for leadership changes at the town hall following the scathing Best Value Inspection into the finances of Warrington Borough Council.

They say the Best Value Inspection report on Warrington Borough Council, published on May 8, 2025, delivers a scathing indictment of failures in both political and operational leadership.

In response, Senior Conservatives in Warrington are urging the Local Government Minister to fully implement the inspectors’ recommendations. This includes appointing commissioners instead of ministerial envoys and calling for senior officers to step down while the Council Leader takes decisive action to restore accountability.
The Best Value Inspection report describes the Council as “resistant” to external challenge, leading inspectors to conclude that the Authority lacks the ‘will or capacity’ to implement the necessary reforms.
The inspection exposed deep-rooted failures in both political and operational leadership at Warrington Borough Council. Inspectors characterise the leadership as “defensive and lacking transparency in their ways of working”, with key decision-making disproportionately influenced by a small group of officers. Furthermore, recent investments were found to be incompatible with CIPFA codes, statutory investment guidance, and, in at least one instance, the Public Works Loan Board eligibility criteria.

A Culture Resistant to Scrutiny
Former Leader of the Opposition and Councillor for Birchwood, Nigel Balding said: “Inspectors identified a culture resistant to scrutiny, where members are highly deferential to powerful officers and there is a consistent defensiveness toward both internal and external challenge. Labour and the Officers simply didn’t understand that asking questions and being challenged is part of the democratic process. This climate has facilitated a high-risk commercial programme that far exceeds the expertise and capacity of even the most senior officers and external reviewers—leaving the authority in a dangerously exposed position.
These systemic failures were repeatedly challenged by the Conservative Group on Warrington Borough Council between 2021 and 2024, when it served as the official opposition to the Labour-led administration. However, both before and after this period, the Liberal Democrat opposition failed to meaningfully challenge the Council’s opaque culture and financial mismanagement.

Labour’s Response: Denial and Inaction
Former Appleton Conservative Councillor, Mark Jervis, who was interviewed by Inspectors said, ‘In my three years as a Councillor, Labour and Senior Officers failed to implement improvement recommendations and regularly denied me access to material information which would have more readily confirmed the failings exposed by the Government’s Inspectors. Furthermore, and as the report confirms, some of the information provided was incomplete and therefore misleading in the conclusions being drawn.
“True to form, the Labour leadership’s response to the inspection appears to be one of denial, seemingly convinced that they—along with the existing officers—can rectify the structural, financial, and cultural dysfunction that has now been laid bare.”
The current Conservative representation on the Council, former Conservative councillors, and the former Member of Parliament for Warrington South Andy Carter, whose campaign in Parliament prompted the decision under the last Government to launch a best value inspection, firmly reject this position. They say the proposals offered by the Labour leadership in response to this damning report are grossly inadequate in addressing the scale of the issues.

Leadership change is imperative
Mr Carter said, “Inspectors have spent almost a year inside the Council, looking at every aspect of the operation and have made clear recommendations which include appointing Commissioners for a period of time, because they feel the Officers and Councillors have failed to take action needed. The Council Leader says he’s taking it seriously, if he really is, he should be following the Inspector’s recommendations in full and ask for Commissioners to be appointed to get us out of this mess. I have written to the Local Government Minister to urge him to follow the Inspectors’ recommendations in full, giving Commissioners all the powers they need to minimise the risks to local taxpayers from the risky £1.9bn borrowing and to take urgent steps to transform the council to live within its means.”
In addition to criticism from the Independent Inspectors, the Council has also received criticism from external auditors, CIPFA and peer councils through a process of challenge designed to secure improvements. The Tories say any public organisation which receives such negative findings should look at the leadership and make changes.
Former Member of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee Ken Critchley concluded: “We believe that real reform cannot occur unless those responsible for this crisis are removed. The Chief Executive, the Section 151 Officer and Deputy Chief Executive and the Deputy Section 151 officer, must step down. Without such leadership changes, the attitudes and culture that have led Warrington to this precarious financial position will remain entrenched, preventing meaningful reform and exposing residents to continued risk.”

In response the borough council said the government is welcoming representations on the inspection report and its proposed intervention package by Thursday 22 May. Until then, they have nothing further to add, outside the council’s statement and Cllr Mundry’s statement that’s available on the council website.