Middlesbrough mayor hits back at Rishi Sunak's 'mismanagement' claim

Rishi Sunak's comments came during a visit to Yarm

Middlesbrough's mayor has hit back at comments by the prime minister accusing the council of mismanaging finances.

Discussing difficulties faced by various councils, Rishi Sunak said blame for Middlesbrough's monetary woes rested with its Labour-run council.

Mayor Chris Cooke said the problems predated Labour taking power in May, adding: "There is a lot to put right."

The prime minister's comments followed Conservative calls to bring the council under government control.

Recently, fears have been raised that a number of local authorities could issue section 114 notices, effectively declaring them bankrupt.

Earlier this year, Middlesbrough Council warned a section 114 could be on the horizon, meaning it would stop all spending except for critical front-line services.

'Bad job'

During a visit to Yarm on Friday, Mr Sunak said Middlesbrough had been given "more than the national average" in government funding.

"Unfortunately this is just another example of a Labour-run council that is doing a bad job for its residents, mismanaging its finances," he added.

Middlesbrough Council was run by an Independent-Conservative administration until May when Labour took power.

Politicians from all sides have repeatedly blamed each other for the council's ongoing financial woes, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports.

Labour's Chris Cooke says the party inherited financial challenges when taking control of Middlesbrough

Responding to Mr Sunak's comments, Labour mayor Mr Cooke said: "The people of Middlesbrough are not daft, they know where these problems started and that there is a lot to be put right.

"We are getting on with that job in an open and transparent way."

Mr Cooke said the council is "still haunted by the decisions" taken by the previous administration and blamed the financial challenges on drastic funding cuts.

"The council's auditors raised serious concerns around culture and governance in 2022," he said.

"The government issued the council with a Best Value Notice in January 2023.

"Labour didn't take control of the council until May 2023. We inherited a critically low level of reserves."

Last week, Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, Middlesbrough and East Cleveland MP Simon Clarke and four Tory councillors called on the government to take control of the authority in a letter to the parliamentary under-secretary of state for local government.

The letter was criticised by Mr Cooke and the town's suspended Labour MP Andy McDonald, who described the move as "vindictive and wholly irresponsible".