Struggling Labour leadership reached out to Liberal Democrats opposition group to try to agree a deal to get its Budget for 2026-27 passed
Council leader John Cotton at today’s council budget meeting
Birmingham City Council’s vital Budget meeting ended dramatically without a decision after the ruling Labour leadership failed to get the numbers it needed to for its plans to pass.
A second meeting will now have to be held to get a legal budget over the line, with negotiations between Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Independent groups likely to take place over the coming days.
It was a sudden end to more than five hours of debate.
READ MORE: Birmingham Budget live from inside the debate that will affect every Brummie
It means residents must wait to find out how big their council tax bill will be, and which services will be affected.
The council is now battling against time to ensure it passes a legal budget before March 11, the final deadline for agreeing rates of council tax.
Council Labour leader John Cotton’s group realised partway through the meeting it did not have the number of votes needed to get its budget passed without persuading at least one opposition group to support it. As a result the Lib Dem group was approached and asked to agree to delay a vote.
Coun Cotton later stood before members to say: “I think we all accept we have a responsibility to agree a budget by March 11. That’s a legal duty that falls upon all of us.
“I think it’s also vital we do so in a manner that doesn’t imperil this council’s improvement journey, and commands the widest possible agreement.
“I know colleagues in this chamber also share the desire to take that path. That’s clear from conversations I’ve had this afternoon. I think it’s also clear from those conversations we need to take some additional time to find that way forward. I think that’s the proper and responsible thing to do.
“So therefore, I move this meeting adjourns and reconvenes at a further date before March 11.”
There were cries of ‘shame’ from the Tory benches.
Council Lib Dems leader Roger Harmer at today’s council budget meeting
Snior Liberal Democrats told BirminghamLive there was no ‘deal struck’, and nor were they backing the Labour group’s budget – but that it was important to have ‘breathing space’ to discuss next steps.
Veteran Coun Paul Tilsley said it was vital for councillors to think outside party political lines and realise they were not operating ‘in a cocoon’ but on behalf of the whole city. A brief delay would give all councillors the opportunity to reach the best budget deal and reach the best outcome for Birmingham, he said.
There had earlier been frantic attempts to get all voting Labour members into the council chamber to get the budget passed without having to rely on other votes.
Labour group chief whip Ray Goodwin and leader John Cotton sought to ensure every one of its available 51 voting members were in the chamber for the critical vote but some were absent due to illness.
The annual Budget meeting is one of the most critical yet often overlooked days in the local democracy calendar, with its outcome affecting every Brummie.
The council’s priorities and spending on bin collections, the state of the roads, the future of adult and children’s services, libraries and youth services, education spending and its plans to address the homeless crisis are all decided in the Budget.
It is also the legal vehicle for agreeing council tax and business rates, among other things, and must be completed by a deadline set by government.
READ MORE: Birmingham Labour leaders ‘very anxious’ ahead of vital Budget vote – this is why
Today’s meeting took place against a backdrop of uncertainty because a wave of defections, illnesses and two recent tragedies had diminished the majority of the ruling Labour group.
During bruising exchanges, opposition members blamed the Labour administration for a series of major problems blighting the city – from the bin strike to the overspending on the Oracle IT scheme, to equal pay and reduced budgets for libraries and youth services.
But Labour members fought back, outlining their plans for the city.