Liz Truss and then chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng tried to introduce an unfunded £45bn package of tax cuts. Photograph: Reuters
Cash-strapped local authorities across the UK took out massive 50-year loans at soaring rates of interest in the aftermath of Liz Truss’s catastrophic mini-budget, according to official figures that reveal more about the long-term cost to the public of her 49 days in office.
Figures from the government’s Debt Management Office show that after the budget on 23 September, 2022, announced by Truss’s chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, 24 50-year loans of between £590,000 and £40m were taken out by councils at interest rates of up to 4.77 %, over the rest of that year.
During 2023, while rates remained high, a further 29 50-year loans, including one of £80m by Lambeth council at an interest rate of more than 5%, were taken out as local authorities remained under severe financial pressure.
The way councils have been pressured by successive Tory governments to take on more debt and to adopt risky strategies to get by will be highlighted this week in a speech by shadow levelling up secretary Angela Rayner.
Rayner will argue that the Truss/Kwarteng budget saw councils locked into high interest loans that people will be paying back for decades to come, and that this was symptomatic of a disregard for local authority finance that goes back to the launch of George Osborne’s austerity drive in 2010.
Since then, local authorities have seen real-terms spending power cuts of more than 50%, meaning huge reductions in services, and leaving many now facing bankruptcy.
Last week Rishi Sunak criticised local authorities for putting up council tax too sharply, by more than 5%, even as some have been left on the brink of financial ruin.
Council leaders looking to raise tax by more than the 5% cap either have to be granted permission by central government or hold a local referendum on doing so. Bedfordshire is the only council to have held a vote, in 2015, which it lost.
Rayner will argue that Tory ministers have not only slashed funding but have failed to supervise it, ending oversight of local council spending and scrapping the Audit Commission.
In a speech to the Labour Local Government Conference in Warwick she will call for a “new partnership” between Labour and councils with a fresh system of “long-term funding settlements”, while warning that the crisis facing local government finance is so deep it will require “a long slog, not a magic wand”.
Rayner’s plan is likely to mean two-year deals for councils, as opposed to one-year settlements. She will also pledge to restore a functioning system for auditing local government finances, after it was revealed that 99% of English councils had not had financial accounts approved on time this year.
She will also pledge to give local leaders more control over housing and planning, skills, energy and transport, as part of Labour’s devolution agenda.
Rayner told the Observer: “The Tories have left working people paying more for less, with councils left picking up the pieces. Local government leaders are fighting to deliver vital services against the tide of a Tory economic mismanagement as demand surges amid the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.
“With the council tax bill set to double since Labour was last in government, any blame for a rise in council tax lies squarely with this Conservative government. The biggest obstacle to resolving the crisis in local government is the Conservative party.
“We will treat local government with the respect it deserves and recognise the vital role councils play in keeping services going, day-in, day-out, but that comes with proper accountability.
“A Labour government will start by providing long-term funding settlements to local leaders, giving them greater certainty and the ability to plan for the long term.”
News Related
-
Asylum seekers travel in an inflatable boat across the English Channel, bound for Dover on the south coast of England (Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP) Up to 40 Conservative MPs are poised to rebel over Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation policy as they question ministers’ commitment to the scheme. A major row is ...
See Details:
Up to 40 Tory MPs ‘set to rebel’ if Sunak’s Rwanda plan doesn’t override ECHR
-
In the saltmarsh fringing where the Ballyboe River dissolves into Trawbreaga Bay, a little egret wears its plumage like a windblown stole. Our car swoops across the 10 arches of Malin bridge and we park along the village green. Malin is almost as far north as you can get on ...
See Details:
Country diary: A tale of three churches
-
Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/EPA Hampton Court is an enduring monument to the power of Henry VIII, a pleasure palace down the Thames from Westminster and the City of London. On Monday it was the scene of power projection of a different kind, as Rishi Sunak pitched for investment from some of ...
See Details:
Sunak woos business elite with royal welcome – but they seek certainty
-
-
Tottenham interested in move to sign “fearless” £20m defender in January Tottenham Hotspur have joined the race to bring an overseas defender to the Premier League in January, according to a fresh report. Postecoglou’s centre-back options The Lilywhites currently have Micky Van De Ven, Ashley Phillips, Cristian Romero and Eric ...
See Details:
Tottenham interested in move to sign “fearless” £20m defender in January
-
A £100m campaign urging households and businesses to use less water will be funded from customers’ bills, Ofwat has said. Bill payers to stump up cost of £100m water usage campaign The regulator’s chief executive David Black told MPs that if the measures worked it would be cheaper than building ...
See Details:
Bill payers to stump up cost of £100m water usage campaign
-
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 – Group B – Canada Training – Olympic Park, Melbourne, Australia – July 24, 2023 Canada’s Christine Sinclair during training REUTERS/Hannah Mckay/File Photo (Reuters) – BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, will be renamed “Christine Sinclair ...
See Details:
Soccer-Venue renamed 'Christine Sinclair Place' for Canada soccer great's final game
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
Phil Taylor makes his pick for 2024 World Darts Championship winner
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
Soccer-Howe aims to boost Newcastle's momentum in PSG clash
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
Hamilton heads for hibernation with a word of warning
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
Carolina Panthers fire head coach Frank Reich after 1-10 start to the season
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
This exercise is critical for golfers. 4 tips to doing it right
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
One in three households with children 'will struggle to afford Christmas'
-
OTHER NEWS
Kobbie Mainoo made his first start for Man Utd at Everton (Photo: Getty) The Football Association are reportedly confident that Manchester United starlet Kobbie Mainoo will choose to represent England ...
Read more »
Michael Smith will begin the defence of his world title on the opening night (Picture: Getty Images) The 2024 World Darts Championship is less than three weeks away and the ...
Read more »
For the first time a long haul commercial aircraft is flying across the Atlantic using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). A long haul commercial flight is flying to the US ...
Read more »
The King has met business and finance leaders from across the world at a Buckingham Palace reception to mark the conclusion of the UK’s Global Investment Summit. Charles was introduced ...
Read more »
After Ohio State’s 30-24 loss to Michigan Saturday, many college football fans were wondering where Lou Holtz was. In his postgame interview after the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame 17-14 in ...
Read more »
Darius Slay wouldn’t have minded being penalized on controversial no-call No matter which team you were rooting for on Sunday, we can all agree that the officiating job performed by ...
Read more »
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) Quarterback Mac Jones remains committed to finding success with the New England Patriots even though his future is up in the air following ...
Read more »