North Shropshire MP criticises government funding for the county
MP Helen Morgan has criticised changes to local authority funding
Last updated 19th Dec 2025
North Shropshire Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan has criticised changes to funding for councils.
She says it will leave Shropshire with 10% less funding despite the council being in a £50m deficit.
Funding for Shropshire Council will reduce from £151.5m to £136.3m by 2028/29.
The Government says it's making changes to give a fairer spread across the country.
However the North Shropshire MP says the government are prioritising urban areas.
"...this Government is splashing the cash on urban areas"
Helen said, “Yet again Shropshire has been left out in the cold and let down by a Westminster government that does not care about rural areas.
“Services cost far more to deliver in places like Shropshire and yet this Government is splashing the cash on urban areas while leaving rural taxpayers to foot the bill.
“The Government is wrong to be celebrating a cynical deal that rides roughshod over rural areas and fails to acknowledge the reality of the financial emergency facing Shropshire and other counties across the country.”
"We will have to make very difficult decisions as a result..."
Shropshire Council Leader, Cllr Heather Kidd, said: “Labour have let Shropshire down again with this funding settlement, despite repeated promises to fix the funding gap between rural authorities and our urban counterparts.
“We are down £6.5 million in 2026/27 compared to projections from October, due to the fact that Ministers have ignored the higher cost of delivering rural services, removing the remoteness factor from most of our funding. It's clear that rural services will suffer as a result.
“What's more, it is clear that Ministers expect us to put Council Tax up by the maximum every year to counter this. Sadly, that won't come anywhere close to fixing Shropshire's £50 million deficit, with social care pressures likely to be over £20 million next year alone. We will have to make very difficult decisions as a result, and must change our service offer.”
We've approached the Government for a response.