Bristol Budget Backed by Liberal Democrats

26 Feb 2025

Yesterday, Bristol City Council passed its budget for the forthcoming year. The budget was backed by Liberal Democrat Councillors, following the successful adoption of their two proposed amendments.

Seconding the budget, Cllr Caroline Gooch (Liberal Democrat, Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze) said “This budget is a solid one in difficult circumstances, aimed at securing Bristol’s financial position”.

Highlighting aspects of the budget, Cllr Gooch welcomed the near £70m of planned investments across the council including £19m in repairs for council houses, 34 new practitioner staff at Family Hubs, and plans for hundreds of new social housing units.

Cllr Gooch went to add “My group welcomes this budget as a first step in tuning around the city’s finances and improving the direction of travel. Good work has been done to avoid some of the worst savings options, including museum closures and cuts to crossing staff”.

Responding to the budget as group leader, Cllr Jos Clark (Liberal Democrat, Brislington West) welcomed the budget as the first budget under the new committee system, after the Council moved away from the controversial Mayoral system. In light of Labour and Conservative councillors not taking up leading roles in the new committee system, Cllr Clark said “I hope that all the groups will feel able to fully participate in the [budget] process and take up the cross-party posts in the future. Working together will benefit all Bristolians, and failure to do so would be to let our residents down.

“There has been plenty of opportunity to have input via policy committees and the finance sub-committee, meaning that all councillors have had ample opportunity to contribute. However, it appears that some councillors have been less keen to take part in the process as equals in the committee system, and would rather take an obstructive stance than a constructive one.”

Speaking to the financial difficulties the budget has had to navigate, Cllr Clark observed “We all know that we have had to work with less money from the Government over the past few years, and I am sad to say that things do not look like they have improved much under the new Labour government.

“This year is no exception, and tells a familiar tale of council departments having to make difficult decisions and choose between worthy causes. This is no more prevalent than in adult social care and children’s services, which are under huge strain in the face of rising costs and stagnating funding.”

Prior to the voting on the budget as amended, Cllr Sarah Classick (Liberal Democrat, Hengrove and Whitchurch Park) explained why the budget was receiving the support of the Liberal Democrat group. “Our support is based on one key principle: this year, unlike in previous years under the former administration, we have had a genuine opportunity to be part of the budget-setting process.

“This budget has been shaped through greater collaboration with chairs and vice chairs of committees from all parties being included as part of the process and a willingness to listen to input from across the chamber and further out from the residents of Bristol, something that we have felt was sorely lacking in the past. That is a fundamental change and one that we welcome.”

Cllr Classick concluded by saying “As Liberal Democrats, we will always advocate for a budget that prioritises frontline services, protects the most vulnerable, and invests in Bristol’s future. This budget is not everything we would want in an ideal world, but we recognise that it has been built with a far more inclusive and transparent process than we have seen in recent times.”

With the group’s two amendments receiving cross-party backing, the Liberal Democrat group supported the budget as amended.

Notes to editors:

Previous press releases from the Liberal Democrats regarding the budget:
Papers for the budget Full Council meeting on 25^th February: ModernGov - bristol.gov.uk

This website uses cookies