The high price of Reform
Reform promised lower council tax. Their first budget delivers the opposite.
Before the election, Reform candidates across Lincolnshire were clear. Council tax was, in their words, too high. Residents were being overcharged. Small increases made previously were criticised loudly, and voters were told that under Reform, bills would come down.
Now we have their first full budget. And the reality could not be more different.
The maximum council tax rise, despite record funding.
Reform’s budget raises council tax by 4.99%, the maximum allowed by law and above inflation. This is not a marginal increase. It is a deliberate choice to go as high as possible.
What makes this worse is the context. Lincolnshire County Council is receiving record additional funding from central government, including:
* Over £50 million from Fair Funding changes
* Around £30 million more through the business rates top-up
* Approximately £9 million a year in reduced National Insurance costs
This was not a budget written in a crisis. The money is there. Yet instead of using this funding to ease pressure on household bills, Reform has chosen to push council tax to the limit.
More spending, higher bills, less to show for it
The same budget shows service spending rising sharply, from £687 million to £821 million in a single year, an increase of around £140 million. Even after Reform’s own “simplified” presentation, spending still grows by around £60 million.
So residents are paying more, and the council is spending more. But what do people actually get in return?
Not better roads.
Not more local investment.
Not improved everyday services.
Road funding is cut where it matters most
Despite repeated claims about prioritising highways, the budget cuts the money that actually goes into maintaining and repairing everyday roads compared with this year.
On top of that, major local road schemes have been removed entirely:
* £11 million cut from coastal road schemes
* £2 million cut from road investment in Grantham
These are not abstract figures. They translate directly into slower repairs, deteriorating surfaces, and more frustration for drivers, businesses, and residents.
Local investment and facilities cancelled
The budget also removes £20 million of planned investment in business and economic support, undermining growth and jobs at a time when Lincolnshire should be backing its local economy.
At the same time, important local facilities disappear from the programme altogether:
* Skegness Household Waste Recycling Centre cancelled
* Leverton Fire Station left unfunded and effectively cancelled
Again, these are political choices. They were not forced by government cuts.
Borrowing up, despite pre-election criticism
Perhaps the clearest example of the gap between words and actions is borrowing.
Before the election, Reform criticised borrowing and accused others of poor financial management. Yet their budget shows borrowing rising from around £56 million to £87 million, an increase of £31 million in a single year.
This is long-term borrowing, locked into the council’s prudential plans. It brings real interest costs that future taxpayers will have to cover, even as council tax is being pushed up today.
A budget built on broken promises.
Taken together, the picture is clear:
* Council tax up by the maximum 4.99%
* Spending up by tens of millions
* Borrowing up by £31 million
* Road repairs cut
* Coastal and Grantham schemes removed.
* Business investment scrapped
* Local facilities cancelled
Reform promised to fix the council. They promised lower council tax and a different approach.
Their first budget does the opposite: higher bills, more debt, fewer visible improvements, and a missed opportunity to use record government funding to genuinely help residents.
Lincolnshire deserves better than this
