Wokingham councillors met for the first time since the local elections, agreeing new leadership roles and a controversial rise in their own allowances as they set out sharply contrasting plans for the year ahead.
Liberal Democrat leader Stephen Conway reshuffled the top team, taking personal control of planning and enforcement. Stephen Newton will oversee bin collections and recycling, and councillor Basit Alvi will lead on technological change. He also welcomed new councillors Richa Singh, Roberta Brooks, Mohima Bose and Chris Johnson.
Mr Conway warned the authority faces mounting financial pressure. He said: "We are in the first year of a three-year local government finance settlement, which will see a net reduction in Wokingham's government support of £43 million by 2028-29. "Yet our costs are rising, as inflation goes up and demand for our services grows in both volume and complexity."
He insisted the borough is "not broken", pointing to its schools, businesses and community sector and urging closer collaboration with residents to make limited resources go further.
Opposition Conservatives painted a very different picture and introduced new councillors including former Woodley mayor David Bragg and Leon Cook. Their leader Pauline Jorgensen said: "Residents are fed up with a Liberal Democrat administration that wastes their money, that puts up their Council Tax and local charges while slashing their services." She cited delayed school building projects, underinvestment in roads, empty council buildings losing potential income, rising parking charges and concerns over planned housing at Hall Farm.
Labour leader Rachel Burgess focused on the decision to increase councillors' allowances. She said: "For months the Liberal Democrat administration has warned that the council's finances are in crisis. If that is truly the case, how can they justify voting themselves a pay rise?" She also questioned whether a £500 home office allowance should remain and warned the change would cost tens of thousands over coming years, challenging councillors to explain what services might be cut to pay for it.
Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter
