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Parties clash over council’s proposed budget plans
Opposition groups at Bristol City Council have criticised the Green-led authority’s proposed annual budget.
Labour, the second biggest party in the chamber and the one that has not aligned itself with the administration under the new committee system since 2024, claimed the government was increasing the council’s funding by £161m up to 2029.
But it said concerns remained over the Greens’ spending plans, including outsourcing and potential closure of adult social care places, although the group welcomed a series of U-turns from council leaders, such as reopening public toilets and reversing cuts to grants for cultural and community organisations.
The Conservatives said it was ‘deeply disappointing’ that the organisation refused to consider reductions to council tax benefits.
The Lib Dems, however, who chair two of the eight policy committees in an informal agreement with the Greens, said they had secured money for cleaner streets, community groups and planning enforcement.
Labour leader Tom Renhard said the Labour government has ended ‘austerity’, with the council budget set to rise by over £161m by 2029 – photo: Labour
As reported, six changes to the draft budget have been announced, including £270k towards reopening public toilets eight years after a dozen were closed, scrapping cuts to the cultural investment programme and the Bristol Impact Fund, £300K for more planning enforcement officers, and a £350k boost to tackle fly-tipping and rubbish left on streets.
Bristol Labour leader Tom Renhard said: “The Labour government has ended austerity. As a result, Bristol’s future looks brighter.
“Bristol City Council will see its funding increase by £161.3m by 2029 – a 30 per cent increase in the council’s core spending power compared to 2024/25.
“For comparison, under the Tories, the council’s funding was only increased by £4.3m over a three-year period.
“Our thanks go to community organisations, trade unions, and the culture sector for pushing back against the Greens’ myopic plans to scrap the Cultural Investment Programme.
“Due to their hard work, the administration has seen sense and performed yet another U-turn.
“It was obvious to everyone but the council leadership that the plan to axe these grants and instead look for philanthropic funding was a non-starter.”
But he said concerns remained.
“We have seen an explosion in spending on executive salaries while the council undertakes reviews of vital frontline services, particularly relating to adult social care,” said councillor Renhard.
“Make no mistake, these ‘reviews’ are a thinly veiled euphemism for outsourcing, cuts and closures.
“They must come clean to the public and bring the transparency that they promised to deliver.”
Tory group leader councillor Mark Weston said: “Under the current government, the council’s funding becomes more and more reliant on business rates.
“In good years this will prove beneficial.
“The problem is that the Labour chancellor seems to be doing all she can to hammer businesses with increasing taxes and regulation.
“This causes my group real concern as to the long-term health of the council’s finances.
“In addition, it is deeply disappointing that the Green-led administration, like its predecessor under the Labour mayor, simply refuses to even consider reform of the local Council Tax Reduction scheme.
“They do so in the certain knowledge that in its current form, the 100 per cent relief for working age households is unaffordable and unsustainable.
“By rejecting this option, the Greens are failing to support important public services upon which all Bristol households depend.”
Lib Dem leader councillor Jos Clark, however, said: “We are proud to have secured additional funding towards cleaning up our streets and improving Bristol’s urban environment.
“With an extra £350k going towards street cleansing and fly-tipping collection, it is good to see the council moving in the right direction after successive years of neglect under the previous Labour administration.
The revenue budget for all 27 libraries in Bristol for 2026 has been protected in full by the Public Health and Communities Committee – photo: Karen Johnson
Public health and communities committee chairman Lib Dem councillor Stephen Williams said: “I was proud to have worked with Green Party colleagues to fully secure the libraries budget at a record-early point in the budget process, allowing the recently passed libraries strategy to produce a vision for the future of our library service with confidence.
“This firm backing is exactly what our library service needs after years of stealth cuts under Bristol Labour.
“The mass closure of public toilets under Labour was a real loss for the city.
“We look forward to working with others to deliver new public toilets to improve our public spaces and access to them for those with medical conditions and disabilities.”
Alex Seabrook is a local democracy reporter for Bristol
Main photo: Karen Johnson
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