Your Council, Your Crisis

Your Council, Your Crisis: They're Deciding Your Future Right Now. Don't Sit This One Out.

Let's talk about our money. Our services. Our community.

Right now, behind the 246 pages of reports and the budget lines, decisions are being made that will shape every pothole on our streets, every hour of care for an elderly relative, every support service for our childrens school. And they’re being made from a position of sheer, stark desperation.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Telford & Wrekin Council is on the financial ropes, despite Cllr Lee Carter, leader of the council, and Labour MP Shaun Davies, both saying how great it is they'll be getting over £60 million in extra government funding!

This year, they’re only balancing the books by emptying the emergency savings account— all £7.2m of it. It’s the financial equivalent of using your life savings to pay the gas bill. It works today, but tomorrow? It’s gone.

And the storm hasn’t even hit yet.

The real monster in the room is social care. An aging population and rising costs mean Adult Social Care alone is racing towards a £13.9m overspend. Meanwhile, the budget for children with high needs in our schools is already £4.66m in the red. These aren't luxuries; they are essential, heartbreaking, and legally required services. They are the safety net for our most vulnerable.

So, what’s the proposed plan? It feels like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

You’ll Pay More

A proposed Council Tax rise of £1.20 a week for an average home. In a cost-of-living crisis, every pound counts. They say every extra penny will go to social care—because it has to.

You’ll Get Less

To survive, the council must find another £19.1 million in cuts on top of the £195m already slashed since 2010. The report admits the impact on frontline services is now "inevitable". 

Think libraries, road repairs, parks, leisure centres. Think jobs. Think the fabric of your daily life.

Your Voice is Drowning

 

Despite 70p of every £1 now being funneled into social care, (a drop from last years 75p), the fight for what’s left is fiercer than ever. 

A new job being created, paying  £55,000  of our tax money, to permanently support veterans? It’s a drop in an ocean of need, illustrating the impossible choices being made.

This is the crux of it: They are making difficult choices about our lives, right now. 

They are deciding which services wither and which get a temporary reprieve. And they’re doing it with a gun to their head, held by ongoing austerity, enforced by their own Labour government and demographics. 

Here is your power, and it’s fleeting.

There is a public consultation, and it closes on 3 February 2026.

This isn’t about nodding along to a done deal, or so we are told. 

This is your chance to look them in the eye (via email) and say:

· “Before you cut this, have you considered that?”

· “How will this saving affect my family, my street, my neighbour?”

· “Is there another way?”

Your silence is an agreement. Your silence means accepting these desperate measures without a fight.

The final decision is made on 26 February. Between now and then, the only thing that can possibly alter the course is a loud, clear, and united voice from the people who live with the consequences.

Do not let this happen to you, without you.

Make your view matter. Email yourviewsmatter@telford.gov.uk before 3 February 2026.

Speak now, or the next four years are decided for you.