Liberal Democrats have described the Conservative budget approved by Warwickshire County Council this afternoon as being “like the proverbial curate’s egg – good in parts”.

Earlier in the day, separate budget proposals by the Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens had all been voted down by the Council, in which no one political party has an overall majority.

The revised budget subsequently put forward by the minority Tory administration included a number of the key priorities put forward by the Liberal Democrats, specifically funding for the “Connect Well” social prescribing programme, money to support extra family support workers, and an extra £4 million over two years on the highway maintenance programme.

However, the Conservatives failed to support Liberal Democrat proposals to reduce central overheads, and would not back the strong wording in the Liberal Democrat amendment condemning the Conservative government for Warwickshire’s unfair financial settlement, and calling on the county’s six Conservative MPs to stand up for local residents.

Cllr Jerry Roodhouse (Rugby Eastlands & Hillmorton), Liberal Democrat group leader said afterwards:

“The Tories did just enough to persuade us to abstain on the final vote, allowing their revised budget to go through. Unlike Labour, whose own budget proposals were mostly about playing party politics, Liberal Democrat councillors are here to pursue our priorities and get them put into practice.

“At the end of the day, though, this Conservative budget means only one thing for the people of Warwickshire – More Taxes for Fewer Services.”