Bromley’s £43m Budget Crisis Deepens as Council Leader Appeals to Government Over Tax Rises

Bromley’s growing financial crisis has taken another significant turn, with Conservative Council Leader Colin Smith now writing directly to senior Government ministers over a funding position which could leave residents facing higher Council Tax, cuts to services, or both.

The latest intervention comes as Bromley Council forecasts a budget gap of around £43 million in 2027/28, rising to £61 million in 2028/29. The council’s own financial documents confirm those figures even after substantial savings and transformation measures have already been built into its plans.

In a letter dated 21 September, Cllr Smith describes the situation facing the borough as a looming financial crisis and asks Government either to reconsider the way Bromley is funded or give the council greater freedom to raise Council Tax above the usual limit.

For Reform UK Bromley & Biggin Hill, the latest development raises an obvious question: how did Bromley reach the point where residents are now being warned about potentially painful service cuts and larger tax rises, only months after the local elections?

Council Leader Takes Appeal Directly to Government

Cllr Smith’s letter argues that Bromley is being penalised because it historically maintained relatively low Council Tax and lower spending than many other London boroughs.

He points to Bromley’s current Band D council element of £1,629.53, compared with a figure of £1,921 used within the Government’s funding calculations.

Bromley Council’s published 2026/27 figures confirm the £1,629.53 council element, with the full Band D bill reaching £2,140.04 once the Greater London Authority element is included.

The council’s argument is essentially that its past attempts to keep spending and Council Tax comparatively low are now working against it under the funding formula.

Cllr Smith asks ministers to reconsider the settlement and, if they will not, to give Bromley the same ability granted to some other councils to increase Council Tax beyond the normal cap.

That makes the situation facing residents increasingly clear: if additional funding is not forthcoming, the Conservative-led council is openly considering higher taxation alongside substantial savings and service reductions.

£43m Gap – Rising to £61m

Bromley’s financial problems are not small.

The council currently forecasts a deficit of approximately £43 million in 2027/28, increasing to £61 million in 2028/29. Its external auditors have also highlighted those figures and noted that the council’s financial plans already assume continued savings and maximum Council Tax increases.

Bromley says it has made more than £180 million of savings since 2011/12, while further transformation programmes are expected to deliver tens of millions more.

Yet despite those savings, the council remains heavily reliant on reserves to balance its finances.

Cllr Smith’s latest letter says officers are currently planning around approximately £25 million of reserves being used to support the current year’s budget and warns that continued reliance on reserves would ultimately become unsustainable.

That is a serious position for any local authority.

Government Funding at the Heart of the Dispute

Bromley Council places much of the responsibility on changes to central Government funding.

The council says its grant will be £22.2 million lower annually by 2028/29, increasing to a £30.5 million real-terms reduction after projected inflation. It has also calculated that Bromley would receive around £112 million more each year if its funding per head matched the London average.

Those are substantial figures, and Bromley’s argument that the borough receives unusually low funding deserves serious consideration.

But there is an important distinction.

Government determines the funding settlement.

Bromley Council determines how the borough responds to it.

That includes which services are reduced, where savings are made, how reserves are used and how much residents are ultimately asked to pay in Council Tax.

Those decisions belong to the Conservative administration running Bromley.

Why Are Residents Hearing So Much About This After the Election?

That brings us to one of the most uncomfortable aspects of this story.

The borough elections took place in May 2026.

Bromley Council had already publicly warned in January that its Government grant was being reduced by £22.2 million annually and that the authority was facing significant financial pressure.

Its budget documents also showed substantial future funding gaps well before residents went to the polls.

Yet only months after the election, residents are now hearing increasingly stark warnings about what Cllr Smith has described as an unprecedented financial challenge, alongside discussion of larger Council Tax increases and potentially severe service reductions.

Reform UK Bromley & Biggin Hill believes residents are entitled to ask:

How much of this financial position was understood before the May election, and how clearly was it explained to voters at the time?

That is not a minor political point.

If residents are now potentially being asked to accept higher taxes or reduced services, they deserve to know when the scale of the problem became apparent and what options were already being considered.

Reform Raised Concerns Before May

During the local election campaign, Reform UK candidates and councillors raised concerns about Bromley Council’s finances and warned that difficult choices could follow.

They did not have access to all the detailed internal figures now being discussed publicly, but Reform’s position was that residents deserved greater scrutiny of the borough’s finances and a clearer picture of the pressures facing local services.

The council’s latest warnings mean those questions have become even more important.

Reform UK Bromley & Biggin Hill will continue to scrutinise the decisions being made at the Civic Centre and, in particular, what those decisions mean for ordinary residents.

Higher Council Tax?

One of the biggest issues now is whether Bromley could seek permission to raise Council Tax beyond the normal limit.

For 2026/27, Bromley’s council element increased by 4.99 per cent, including the Adult Social Care precept.

Cllr Smith’s latest letter makes clear that the council wants Government to consider allowing Bromley greater flexibility if its funding settlement is not changed.

That leaves residents facing a potentially uncomfortable equation.

If Government does not provide additional funding, Bromley must either find considerably more savings, draw further upon reserves, raise additional revenue, or combine all three.

Whatever happens, residents should be told precisely what is being considered before decisions are made.

Residents Deserve Answers Before the Bills Arrive

Bromley’s funding settlement may well be unfair.

The Conservative administration may also be justified in arguing that central Government policy has made an already difficult position worse.

But those arguments cannot be allowed to obscure the responsibility of the council itself.

Residents need to know what savings are proposed, which services are potentially at risk, how much further Council Tax could rise and why the full scale of the situation is becoming so prominent only after May’s elections.

The latest letter from the Council Leader shows that this issue is no longer theoretical.

Bromley Council is now formally asking Government either to change its funding position or give it greater scope to raise Council Tax.

For residents across Bromley & Biggin Hill, what happens next could have a direct impact on both household bills and local services.

Reform UK Bromley & Biggin Hill will be watching those decisions closely and reporting on exactly what they mean for local residents.