Bedford council debt has "shot back up” to £107m - with £153m on the cards by 2027

However, the Conservatives said it is a “perfectly normal part of financial management” to borrow occasionally in order to grow.

The Lib Dems said they had reduced the borrowing “inherited” from the former county council from £90 million to £60 million.

But that debt has now “shot back up” to £107 million and the report to next week’s Executive meeting (September 11) reveals a plan for it to go up further to £153 million by March 2027.

Councillor Michael Headley (Putnoe), Liberal Democrat finance spokesperson, said: “The Conservatives seem determined to write the dictionary definition of irresponsibility. Not only have they burnt through the reserves we left them, they have also borrowed eye-watering sums.”

He added: “That means more taxpayers money is just being spent on interest payments on these bigger loans so that there is less money available for council services.”

The Lib Dems said the report identified an “additional £1.4 million” will be spent this year on interest payments than was originally budgeted for.

Councillor Headley said: “Paying over £1 million more in interest this year alone is just like pouring money down the drain, when that money could have been spent on services for local residents.

“The ones who will ultimately pay will be the taxpayers in Bedford borough when council tax will have to rise again and essential services will have to be slashed,” he said.

Referring to the report the Lib Dems included in their statement, councillor Graeme Coombes, portfolio holder for finance & risk, said that councillor Headley needs to “read their council reports properly”.

He said: “Current borrowing reported at the end of March 2024 was £88 million, not the £107 million he’s claiming. It’s a perfectly normal part of financial management that councils, businesses and the public have to borrow money occasionally in order to grow and make a better future for themselves.

“The £88 million is also well within the risk tolerance that financial professionals say is acceptable. The Liberal Democrats, as usual, give you only half the picture, constantly trying to deceive the Bedford public. They talk about debt, but they forget to mention the council’s investments which return interest.”

He added: “They don’t tell you about the council’s many assets that generate income and revenue. They talk about the £90m debt from the County Council, but never mention the £150 million of assets they were also handed – and failed to take advantage of.

“They also forget to mention that their Lib Dem mayor and councillor Headley himself, constantly starved council budgets of resources, resulting in crumbling infrastructure, a town centre deprived of investment and leisure facilities that were run into the ground.

“We have immediately had to pick up the pieces after the financial mess the Liberal Democrat mayor left us last year and pump money into leisure, roads and other services to rescue them from collapse. We are now slowly but surely making Bedford a better place to live, work and visit.”

The Lib Dems clarified that the “£107 million” was in the mid–year report that went to the Treasury Management Advisory Panel that met on August 30.

Which is “not a public report but is not confidential”, and that the figure is the position as at July 2024.