Why it matters: The Conservative-led Suffolk County Council is set to vote later today on increasing council tax by 4.99 per cent – the maximum allowed without a referendum. A Reform UK councillor's counter-proposal offers a four per cent rise instead, but opposition groups say the plan is fundamentally flawed.
The details: Cllr Christopher Hudson, the Reform UK group leader on the council, is proposing to raise council tax by just four per cent, rather than the 4.99 per cent proposed by the Conservative-led administration. To compensate for the lost income, he suggests making redundancies in back office teams, particularly where roles duplicate with district councils, and launching a "get back to work" drive to reduce long-term sick leave.
However, when questioned, Cllr Hudson admitted he did not know how many redundancies would be required or how much money would be saved through either measure.
What they're saying: Cllr Andrew Stringer, leader of the council's main opposition group, made up of Green, Liberal Democrat and Independent councillors, described the amendment as "quite dangerous" due to its lack of detail. "It looked like it was written by a spoiled child – there is no substance to it," he said.
Labour leader Cllr Sandy Martin added: "I don't know where people get the idea [that] back office staff just sit there and twiddle their thumbs. Where things have gone wrong, it has been because there are not enough people working in the background. It's rubbish, and it's ridiculous."
The other side: Defending his proposals, Cllr Hudson said: "It's not that we have to get rid of people because we are evil, it's because we don't have the resources. We have to think about the unthinkable to save money."
He also floated additional cost-saving ideas, including using reserves, reducing non-essential services, freezing staff pay, stopping some capital projects, and not replacing the outgoing chief executive – though these measures are not part of his formal amendment to fund the lower council tax increase.
For context: Neither the Green, Liberal Democrat and Independent group nor Labour proposed budget amendments this year. Both leaders said there was little room to manoeuvre within the council's budget constraints.
The bottom line: While the Reform UK councillor positions his amendment as offering taxpayers relief, opposition groups say the alternative budget lacks the detailed costings and workforce impact assessments necessary for responsible financial planning at county level.
