The long-awaited Grant Thornton report published this month reinforces what many residents and local Lib Dems have argued for years, that ‘political and managerial leadership of the council failed to ensure borrowing, and investments were proportionate to the council’s size’.
Leadership was over-confident according to the report, which notes there was ‘evidence of exceptionalism in the council’s levels of borrowing,’ yet there ‘was a lack of commercial knowledge and specialist legal knowledge in the council.’
Council leadership failed at every level. The council’s former Chief Executive, Ray Morgan, is cited as the ‘principal architect’. Statutory officers failed to ensure that the ‘council’s finance and business was managed prudently and lawfully’ and former Conservative leaders ‘were very closely aligned with the former CEO’s approach to investments.’
Borrowing over the period of Conservative administration was grossly excessive and exposed the council to significant risk.
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The report’s devastating conclusions singled out former Conservative leadership for failing to understand the purpose and value of asset purchases, failing to ensure ‘that borrowing, and investments were proportionate to the council’s size, levels of income and management capacity.’
The report highlights the challenges faced by the new Lib Dem administration, elected in May 2022. The seriousness of the situation was fully exposed, ultimately leading to an Improvement and Recovery Plan - also mentioned in the report, which will take the council towards a sustainable future.
Woking Lib Dems Chair, Deborah Hughes concluded: “The report confirms that former senior officers and Conservative leaders, named explicitly in the report, have spectacularly failed the residents of Woking. This has saddled Woking with unsustainable debts that exceed £2bn, more than 160 times our council tax income.
“The report indicates significant areas of gross failure. Local Lib Dems are joining residents in calling for those responsible for this catalogue of disasters to be held to account.”