Warrington council in increasing precarity over finances

As headlines swirl around Warrington’s finances, one thing is clear: the numbers are large, complex, and increasingly hard to ignore.

• £354 million – the amount Warrington Borough Council is asking the government to borrow through Exceptional Financial Support.
• £178.9 million – the projected budget gap over the next four years.
• £708 million – the long-term cost of that borrowing over 20 years, including interest.

For Independent Cllr Stuart Mann, however, this isn’t about headline figures. It’s about what those figures mean for people.

Speaking to the Canary, Mann said:

This isn’t abstract, I live here. My family lives here. I pay council tax here. These decisions affect me too.

How Did Warrington Get Here?

Over the past decade, the council adopted a commercial investment strategy. The intention was straightforward: borrow at relatively low interest rates, invest in property and other ventures, generate income, and use that income to protect frontline services. In theory, it was about financial self-sufficiency. In practice, borrowing at scale brought risk. As a result, some investments underperformed, markets shifted and interest rates rose. All the while, the debt remained.

As concerns mounted, the Government commissioned a Best Value Inspection into Warrington. The inspection did not simply examine the balance sheet. It looked at governance, scrutiny, risk management and organisational culture. It raised concerns about the scale of borrowing, the level of exposure to risk, weaknesses in oversight, and the need for stronger financial discipline.

Following that report, government envoys were appointed to oversee improvement at the council. According to early assessments, even if the council attempted to dispose of its commercial assets quickly – effectively a “fire sale” – potential losses could be in the region of £275m. There wasn’t a simple reset button, the exposure was already there. There has also been significant leadership change since the commercial strategy was developed. The former leader and deputy leader have left. The former Chief Executive and previous Section 151 officers are no longer in post.

But, Mann says,

Change in personnel doesn’t solve structural issues. What matters now is whether governance is genuinely stronger.

Where is the oversight?

More recently, under the oversight of the government envoys, an expert review of the council’s Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) policy was carried out. MRP is the amount a council must legally set aside each year to repay borrowing. The review found that Warrington had not been setting aside enough. Correcting that added tens of millions of pounds per year in recurring pressure to the budget. It wasn’t new spending, it was correcting how the council was paying down existing debt, but that correction has had major consequences.

As the council nears its full meeting on the 2nd March where the budget will be proposed by the Labour group in charge, the papers show

– A four-year budget gap of £178.9 million

– A £117.9m shortfall next year alone before savings

– A £354m Exceptional Financial Support request

– And a £708m long-term repayment cost over 20 years

Cllr Mann pointed out that a long-term perspective is crucial here, and one that Labour appear to be ignoring:

That £708 million figure is the one that really lands, because it’s not just about this year. It’s about the next two decades.

To help balance the books, council tax is proposed to rise by 7.48%. For a typical Band D household, that represents several hundred pounds more per year once police and fire precepts are included, pushing annual bills comfortably beyond £2,000 for many families. All in, a typical household will be around £400 worse off after the tax increase.

That’s without taking into account the ever-decreasing value for money for local council tax payers. Compounding things further, we must then factor in energy bills, food prices, mortgages and everything else rising simultaneously. After all, this cost of greed crisis is increasing the burden on households, whilst the richest see their wealth grow.

Cllr Mann says he is particularly frustrated by attempts in some quarters to suggest Warrington residents are somehow “better off” or insulated from the impact.

That kind of smoke and mirrors narrative doesn’t reflect the emails I’m receiving; it doesn’t reflect the conversations I’m having in supermarkets or at school gates. People do not feel better off.

Additional concerns about the council’s narrative

In recent weeks, suggestions have been made that volunteers could help fill gaps created by service reductions. On this, Mann is again clear in his response.

I’ve been a volunteer long before I became a councillor, and I’ll continue long after. Volunteering is about caring for your community. It is not a substitute for properly funded public services.

We are already asking residents to absorb higher bills and reduced services. We cannot then quietly expect them to step in and backfill roles that exist to protect people and keep communities safe.

We are asking households to take a double hit financially. We must not pretend goodwill can absorb a third.

Here Mann argues that expecting goodwill to absorb the consequences of financial misjudgment is unfair. An imbalance that is deeply uncomfortable both for local councillors and for local residents. Mann recently held a ward surgery that he describes as unusually sobering.

“Normally, someone comes in about a pothole or litter and you feel confident you can push for it to be resolved. This time, there was a different tone. Behind every request was the question – is there even the money?”

He says for the first time since being elected in 2024, he struggled to offer reassurance.

“I could log the issue. But I couldn’t confidently promise the outcome in the same way. And that’s hard.

The Best Value Inspection identified governance weaknesses. The envoys stepped in. The MRP review exposed underprovision. Now residents are feeling the impact.

Warrington needs solutions, not gimmicks and sticking plaster policies

Like any sensible adult, Mann accepts the legal necessity of setting a balanced budget. However, he argues that the £178.9m budget cap creates uncertainty around even the basics. Without Exceptional Financial Support from the Labour government, the situation would be even more severe. But he believes this moment must be about more than balancing numbers. Mann argues that rebuilding trust must now be the priority.

This can’t just be about balancing spreadsheets. It has to be about embedding stronger governance, stronger scrutiny, and real financial discipline.

Because while the crisis may have begun in commercial strategy and accounting policy, its consequences are now being felt in homes and communities across Warrington. And as he puts it:

If this moment doesn’t lead to lasting change in how our town is governed and how risk is managed, then the people of Warrington will quite rightly ask what it was all for.

Featured image via the Canary