Calls for resignations of top Shropshire Council bosses over £95m “typo” voting scandal
Shropshire Labour Leader, Cllr Julia Buckley, is calling for the resignations of two Shropshire Council cabinet members after the council’s Conservative Administration, allegedly, accidentally allocated funding equivalent to £95.3 million capital funding to the North West Relief Road.
Cllr Julia Buckley is calling for the resignation of Cllr Gwilym Butler (Portfolio Holder for Finance & Corporate Resources) and Cllr Dan Morris (Portfolio Holder for Highways).
It follows a fractious Council meeting on 21st September, when serious concerns were raised about the scale and approach to the spend. With Shropshire Council already imposing massive cuts to services and facing a revenue budget overspend of £71 million (£51 million deficit and £20 million extra demand) for this fiscal year, Cllr Buckley demanded to know what impact this additional £95 million commitment would have on the Council’s financial strategy.
Indeed, Cllr Buckley raised the fact there were no details about the £95m, as it was a sudden inclusion with inadequate oversight to be able to approve it. This additional capital expenditure would require an estimated further £5 million in revenue debt repayments every year.
During the meeting, Cllr Gwilym Butler defended the additional spend, saying, “There is a stark difference, and that’s what the people of Shropshire can see today. They can actually have an administration that wants regeneration for Shrewsbury… to make Shrewsbury bigger and brighter than it already is, or you can put it in aspic and leave everything as it is, because it’s fine as it is. Well, I’m sorry, on this side of the table, we don’t think we should stand still. We need to embrace the future. We need change, and … and there will be a fight and there will be a stark difference between us, but then it will be up to the public to decide.”
Opposition members were aghast to see the Conservatives vote en masse for the additional £95.3m without a single report referencing the cost: benefit of the project. Immediately following the meeting, the Council’s chief finance officer released a statement explaining this had been an error, and should never have been included or voted on, as there were no background papers or established costs. He has reassured members the money is not specifically allocated and revised papers will be circulated promptly.
Cllr Julia Buckley said: “How can the cabinet members responsible have any credibility left? They didn’t just vote blindly to spend £95m we can’t afford, despite our clear protestations, they spoke passionately in defence of the spend and the vote. And yet, just minutes later, our suspicions were confirmed, that this could not possibly be a correct or appropriate vote.
"This represents a serious failure of corporate governance and performance. The cabinet members should have questioned this figure – as we did, asked for due diligence or at least deferred the item until adequate checks had been made. To publicly defend an error of this magnitude without understanding the need for fiscal propriety and transparency is staggering.
"They cannot continue in their positions. Their actions at the Council meeting have brought our institution in disrepute. They have made Shropshire a national laughing stock, and they must now do the decent thing and resign.”
