At least 26 councils in some of Britain’s most deprived areas are at risk of effective bankruptcy within the next two years, according to a leading local government group, which says many authorities simply have “nothing left”.
Britain’s local government network has been shaken by a string of financial collapses in the past two years, starting with Slough and followed by Croydon, Thurrock and most recently Woking, which announced a deficit of £1.2bn in June after a risky investment spree.
The quartet could be only the tip of the iceberg, according to a survey of 47 councils in northern England, the Midlands and on the south coast, which revealed mounting anxiety that rising costs will blow irreparable holes in budgets that fund…
