Trafford Conservatives Table Vote of No Confidence in Council Leader
Trafford Conservative councillors have tabled a vote of no confidence in the Council Leader and Executive, warning that the current administration has failed to put forward a credible plan to restore the borough’s financial stability.
The motion, proposed by Councillor Nathan Evans and seconded by Councillor Phil Eckersley, will be debated at the Full Council meeting on 18 March 2026.
Conservative councillors say the council’s current financial strategy relies on borrowing for day-to-day spending, uncertain future funding, and a 7.5% council tax increase, placing further pressure on residents already facing rising costs.
Councillor Nathan Evans said:
"Residents are being asked to pay 7.5% more while the council borrows millions simply to maintain day-to-day services. That is not a recovery plan — it is a warning sign."
"Following a plan all the way to failure does not suddenly make it a good plan. Trafford residents deserve a credible strategy to restore financial stability and long-term confidence in the council’s finances."
The Conservatives say the administration had months to develop its financial strategy, yet when opposition councillors proposed an alternative approach they were given just 48 hours to submit a fully costed proposal.
"We repeatedly asked for months to properly examine and develop an alternative plan," Cllr Evans said. "Instead, when the administration ran out of road, the opposition was given just 48 hours and then told there wasn’t enough time to review it."
"We were also told that regardless of how strong an alternative plan might be, it would not be accepted unless it included a 7.5% council tax increase — something Conservative councillors simply cannot support in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis."
Conservative councillors also criticised other opposition parties for failing to challenge the proposed tax rise.
The Green Party argued that council tax should be increased even further, while Liberal Democrat councillors chose to forget they propped up Labour to get into power.
Despite having just ten Conservative councillors, the group says it was the only party prepared to oppose the tax rise outright.
"Residents will understandably ask who is actually standing up for them," Cllr Evans said.
"When Labour proposes a 7.5% council tax increase, the Greens say it should be even higher and the Liberal Democrats choose not to support any alternative. Conservative councillors were the only group prepared to say enough is enough."
Conservative councillors say Trafford faces significant financial pressures, including demand-led services such as home-to-school transport costing more than £8 million per year, alongside rising employment costs and existing borrowing commitments.
They warn that the current administration has no credible Plan B to address the council’s structural deficit.
"Having no plan is not a plan," Cllr Evans added. "Trafford needs structural reform of services, the council’s estate and its workforce — not continued borrowing and hope that things might improve."
Cllr Evans also pointed to the administration’s wider record after eight years of Labour leadership in Trafford.
"After eight years in charge, residents are facing higher council tax, growing financial pressures and a council increasingly reliant on borrowing. Trafford deserves better than that the totoal chaos that is the Labour party locally and nationally."
We are not deaf to the rumblings of dicontent in the Labour party locally. Tom Ross was always at the financial realm even before he became the leader and he has led Trafford to this financial ruin. Labour will lose seats across the borough, a lot of the loses will be down to Tom Ross's incompetance. Labour councillors should forgo the whip and show residents they care and support us to get a recovery plan to save the borough.
If passed, the motion would declare that the Council has no confidence in the Leader and Executive and call for the Leader to resign.
It would also require any new administration to produce a Financial Recovery Plan within 60 days, setting out quantified savings and a pathway away from borrowing to fund day-to-day spending.
"Trafford residents deserve leadership focused on responsible spending, sustainable finances and keeping council tax as low as possible," Cllr Evans said.
"For years Trafford was run with a clear focus on value for money and protecting residents from unnecessary tax rises. Conservative councillors remain committed to restoring that approach."
The motion will be debated at Trafford Council’s Full Council meeting on 18 March 2026.
ENDS