Tory leader says “room for optimism and change” following meeting with Labour leadership

LEADER of the opposition Tory Group, Cllr Nigel Balding, says there is room for optimism and an opportunity for change following a recent meeting with the new Labour leadership at Warrington Town Hall.

But one of the first tests will be examining “what went wrong” in the council’s £10m investment in the Mailbox property portfolio in Birmingham.

As reported recently a meeting was held at Warrington Town Hall which included Conservative and Labour Group Leaders as well as their Finance Spokespersons and the WBC Chief Executive. The attendees were Cllrs Balding, Cllr. Ken Critchley, Cllr. Mundry and Cllr Matthews and Professor Steven Broomhead.

The meeting was called following an offer to meet by the newly elected Labour Leader of the Council and a letter from Cllr Balding concerning WBC’s investment in Mailbox REIT plc which has recently attracted national press coverage.

The meeting was wide-ranging and Cllr Balding issued the following statement: “Cllr Critchley and I were pleased to meet with Cllrs Mundry and Matthews. We were able to briefly debate the areas of Council policy and approach where we have had significant differences with the previous Labour Leadership. We’ve been calling for changes and it was great to have the opportunity to discuss these in a constructive way.”

“I wrote in advance to Cllr Mundry about WBC’s investment in Mailbox REIT plc and we still need to work through the implications of this investment in advance of next year’s Budget. Labour’s statement described the “Mailbox development” as “successful”. However, I think residents should be concerned about the success, or not, of WBC’s £10M investment in Mailbox REIT plc. This is different matter, and the investment is currently showing a significant loss in value.”
“The statement described WBC’s Mailbox investment as “bonds” and this would be usual for Treasury investments where there is Statutory Guidance for local authorities to prioritise security. However, I have confirmation from WBC that it did not invest in Mailbox bonds, instead it bought 11.79% of the company’s ordinary shares, which are more risky.”
“The Treasury Advisory Panel (TAP) was briefly discussed, as well as the Conservative Group’s decision to withdraw from this officer-led initiative when it was previously called the Treasury Management Board. We regard the TAP as inappropriate, and I will take up Cllr Mundry’s offer to talk more about our serious concerns and whether these can be addressed. “
“We discussed the forthcoming WBC budget for 2024-25 and advised on some of the options that we were recommending last year. The high levels of debt are putting WBC at risk, as are the risky investments with questionable returns. However, we were able to outline some of the urgent changes that we feel could help WBC avoid the council bankruptcy that it is accelerating towards.”
“Conservative Councillors have had their questions and requests for information blocked or ignored on many occasions over the last two years, so we were able to discuss openness and transparency. I believe that there is now an opportunity for change, and I’d like think that there is room for optimism following this meeting. One of the first tests will be when we try to examine what went wrong with the £10M Mailbox investment.”

Potential loss of millions in property investment will not result in cuts to council services