Harlow Labour scrutinise Conservative budget on eve of major meeting
News / Wed 4th Mar 2026 at 12:17pm
By Jade Edwards-Lowe
HARLOW Labour spent an hour asking a number of questions of the Conservative-run budget.
On Thursday the £350 million budget will go in front of the whole council.
Last week, Labour got the opportunity to scrutinise the whole budget.
Councillors Stefan Mullard-Toal, Kay Morrison, Tony Edwards and Jake Shepherd asked questions on a wide range of subjects.
Next week, they will also get the opportunity to present their alternative budget.
The film is below.
Eddie
2026-03-04 13:48:26
Don't make me laugh. 😂😂😂They had no idea last time, what makes them think they know this time. Bunch of amateurs.
Adam
2026-03-04 14:08:54
This is funny, given Racheal from complaints running of the economy, and the fact they had no clue last time.
Gary Roberts
2026-03-04 15:27:53
I hope that the Labour group have studied the Tory budget in depth and have looked at the overall debt of the council and it's assets. These assets will have devalued the moment they were bought leaving the residents of the town to pick up any shortfall. Talking a good game is much easier than delivering it. The Labour group may not be able to stop it but in May this should be a good campaign focus backed by a parred down version. Will they do it? The jury is out!
Jamie
2026-03-04 15:30:02
"There's no magic money tree", Dan Swords says, before presenting a budget with a massive increase in council borrowing.
Pete
2026-03-04 16:24:31
Gary, which assets have devalued, wouldnt expect property to devalue
Gary Roberts
2026-03-04 17:41:00
Pete, every time you buy something it devalues on day one even property. Look at Terminus House. When I was working there the building was structurally sound and the work needed to bring it up to standard will cost more than the building is worth and say 5 years later l believe you would sell at a lose. Add all the other buildings this council bought in the same condition and the lose will be massive that the residents will have to cover.
Yvonne
2026-03-04 17:45:15
Has anyone actually seen the Labour 'Alternative Budget' on the Council website? It is nothing more than a one page cut and paste of last year's ridiculous and irrelevant proposal. For three consecutive years they have failed to present a feasible or half-serious alternative Budget. They are both lazy and incompetent. The town has a great chance to get rid of many of them in the May local elections.
Val
2026-03-04 21:58:27
Harlow Council led by Dan Swords has not only fire started regeneration but had also always protected our town against far left London councils from undertaking their social cleansing by dumping their undesirables here in Harlow such as Newham far left council with the Burnt Mills flats. Harlow Labour has always opposed Dan Swords resolute defence of Harlow. Labour in Harlow are only interested in ideologies that weaken and destroy our country, our town and our culture. They are never to be trusted. Dan has done a fantastic job and deserves our ongoing support.
David Forman
2026-03-05 07:37:55
Yvonne is absolutely correct: the Labour Group alternative budget is a less than one page amendment. I saw something similar in library book titled "Janet and John book of Local Government Finance".
Seamus
2026-03-05 18:36:09
If a company goes bust, the directors are liable to repay as much as the liquidator can get out of them. If you are in the civil service/government service, you can literally screw everything up and simply walk away with no responsibility or consequence. That needs to change
Marie
2026-03-08 10:41:35
We need a new hospital that can serve the ever increasing population of Harlow. Our hospital is crumbling, staffing levels are at an all time low causing even more pressure to a service that is unstainable. The staff at the hospital are amazing. However they are under great pressure due to lack of staffing levels and funding, in a hospital that is no longer fit for purpose. Harlow is an ever increasing population, due to ever increasing building works. Surely the most important thing for this town and the people of Harlow is a new hospital that can safely and properly treat the people of this town. Empty promises have been made for many, many years. It's about time the talking stopped and a new hospital built for the well being of this towns residents. Talking about patching up our existing hospital is nonsense. You can't put a plaster on it and make it better. As the saying goes " you can't turn a sows ear into a silk purse"
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