A former Lib Dem Cllr. who resigned the whip over frustrations over how his party was responding to Warrington Borough Council’s budget proposals has spoken out following last night’s meeting of the Full council at the town’s Parr Hall.
Cllr Graham Gowland (Lymm South), who, along with 17 other opposition Cllrs. opposed Labour’s budget, which included increasing council tax by 7.48 per cent, said: “Residents should not pay for decisions they never made.”
The Independent Cllr. issued a statement following the council’s approval of Exceptional Financial Support (EFS), highlighting that residents are now being asked to shoulder a debt that could exceed £700 million — the result of choices made over many years.
“National funding pressures have affected all councils, but not all councils made the decisions Warrington did,” Cllr Gowland said. “The administration chose high-risk borrowing, commercial investments, and leveraged schemes. That gamble has failed, and now the town is paying the price.”
He emphasised that EFS was not included in the administration’s manifesto, and has arisen purely as a response to fifteen years of poor management.
Cllr Gowland also challenged recent suggestions that opposition councillors had access to the planned budget for months or could have produced a fully costed alternative.
“That simply isn’t true. Requests for information were denied. Briefings were limited. Claims that we had free access to officer time or internal financial data are false. Producing a lawful, balanced budget is not something that can be done on the back of a scrutiny paper or a handful of amendments.”
He questioned how the same administration responsible for creating the financial crisis could credibly present itself as the solution.
“Residents have the right to ask: how can those who put the council in this position now claim they are the ones to get it out?”
Cllr Gowland called for transparency, honesty, and accountability, and reiterated that while national funding challenges are real, local leadership and choices matter.
“Exceptional Financial Support buys time — but it does not erase the consequences of past decisions. Residents are paying for a gamble they never agreed to, and the full cost will be felt for decades.”
As members of the council voted on the budget, protesters rallied outside the town hall, opposing cuts which will impact town centre CCTV and leisure centres like Woolston Hub, which has been mothballed since last year due to the council not having sufficient funds to maintain it following the discovery of legionella in the water supply.
Protesters outside the Parr Hall ahead of the budget meeting
