Reform’s £19m Raid on Reserves is as Reckless as Blair’s PFIs

Councillor Alec Sandiford has criticised Staffordshire County Council’s Reform-led Cabinet for approving the release of £19 million from reserves, comparing the move to the disastrous Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes made popular under Tony Blair’s government in the 1990s and 2000s.

Councillor Sandiford said:

“This £19 million raid on reserves shows the same kind of short-term thinking we saw with PFIs under Labour. Back then, councils were locked into decades of overpriced contracts that drained budgets and left taxpayers paying far more than necessary. Now Reform are making the same mistake – spending today without thinking about the consequences tomorrow.”

PFIs were widely promoted by the Blair government as a way to deliver schools, hospitals and roads quickly, but in reality they saddled councils with rigid, expensive contracts that squeezed local services for a generation. Councillor Sandiford warned that raiding reserves has the same reckless mindset.

He explained:

“Reserves are like a savings account – there for emergencies like flooding, unexpected costs or economic shocks. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. By draining £19 million in one swoop, Reform are leaving Staffordshire exposed and weakening the council’s financial resilience. It’s a decision that shows inexperience and poor judgement.”

Councillor Sandiford argued that responsible borrowing would be the smarter approach:

“Councils can borrow at low interest rates from the government, spreading the cost fairly over time. That’s good financial management. But Reform’s approach is to empty the reserves, gamble with the future, and hope nothing goes wrong. Residents deserve better than this recklessness.”

He concluded:

“We’ve seen before, with Blair’s PFIs, how short-term fixes come back to haunt us for decades. Reform are repeating that same mistake. Their raid on £19 million of reserves proves they lack the experience and responsibility needed to manage Staffordshire’s finances properly.”