Prime Minister hits out at Warrington council for ‘racking up debt’

The comment was made in the House of Commons this afternoon, Wednesday, during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Mr Sunak also said that with Labour in charge of councils such as Warrington, it is “working people that pay the price”.

It followed a question given by Warrington South MP Andy Carter.

He said: “Every month, my constituents see the Labour-run Warrington council spend nearly £4.5million on interest payments to cover their £1.8billion debt.

“Borrowing they used to spend on an energy company that went bust, offices in Birmingham and Manchester, and even a business park that they purchased through an off-shore company, presumably to avoid paying tax.

“Does the Prime Minister agree with me it is time to send in the inspectors? Warrington council has gone too far in its money-making schemes.

“A local council should focus on delivering great services, and the way to achieve that is vote Conservative.”

Mr Sunak replied: “This year, the Government announced a further £600million in extra funding for local councils, a real terms increase, which it has done every single year of this Parliament.

“But we all know what happens when Labour are in charge, whether it is racking up debt in Warrington, the 21 per cent council tax increase in Labour-run Birmingham, or indeed slashing services in Nottingham.

“Or as I just said, higher crime on average in each Labour police and crime commissioner area.

“It is crystal clear that whenever Labour are in charge, it is working people that pay the price.”

In a statement after PMQs, Mr Carter added: “Payments to simply cover the interest on (Warrington) Labour’s £1.8billion borrowing are now estimated to have exceeded £1million a week.

“This was as a result of numerous risky investments by the council which included businesses that have gone bust, leaving serious questions for Labour councillors to answer over the governance of their investment decisions.

“Reports by the BBC in January show Warrington now has the third largest average debt per resident among local authorities in the UK, more than £8,000 per man, woman and child living in Warrington.

“The council’s investments have been the subject of a review by the Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accountancy and consideration by ministers in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities of Government of intervention if spending is not brought under control.

“Last month I also met with the Housing Secretary, Michael Gove, to discuss the process for auditing Warrington Borough Council’s accounts dating back to 2018.

“I asked his department to take urgent action to ensure full transparency for residents to have confidence in how their tax money is being spent by the council.”

The Prime Minister hit out at Labour-run Warrington Borough Council

Earlier during PMQs, Mr Sunak said taxes controlled by Labour – including in Wales, London and Birmingham – were indicative of what the party would do in government.

Referring to Birmingham council, the Prime Minister stated: “What Labour has done to Birmingham, the Conservatives will never let them do to Britain.”

Local elections on May 2 will see nearly 2,700 council seats in England up for grabs across 107 local authorities, while 37 police and crime commissioners in England and Wales will also be chosen.

Votes are also taking place to elect some of the most high-profile mayors in the country – including Greater Manchester, London and the West Midlands.

Mr Sunak responded to calls from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during PMQs to reveal how the Tories would fund a £46billion plan to scrap national insurance.

The PM said: “We have just cut taxes by £900 for a typical worker, we have delivered the biggest tax cut for businesses since the 1980s, but while we are cutting taxes, Labour is already putting them up.

“In Wales, putting up taxes right now for small businesses, in Birmingham, putting up council tax by 21 per cent, in London, his mayor has put up taxes by 70 per cent.

“This is just a glimpse of what they would do if they got in power. A few weeks ago, he finally admitted it to The Sun. What did he say he would do? I quote, he said ‘we would put up taxes’.

“It is always the same – higher taxes and working people paying the price.”