£9m budget cuts passed amid bitter scenes

Elected members had an uncomfortable walk through a fiery guard of jeering and chanting placard-waving Mencap supporters as they made their way into the chamber to take their seats, followed by the group who crammed into every nook and cranny to watch the drama unfold.
The three and a half hour meeting had to be extended due to the length of the items being debated, with five financial reports to be approved including the main dish; the budget itself, containing the most controversial items, job losses, cuts to services and cuts to charity funding including a reduction of £23,000 over the next two years to Mencap, which had brought the protesters along.
Fractious exchanges over the floor from the battling parties resulted in a Conservative amendment which included a £50,000 grant for communities and a £50,000 pot of money to fund breaks for unpaid carers passed, and the Liberal Democrat alternative budget proposals shot down.
The party had said it would use money to reverse the proposed cuts to domestic abuse funding, reverse cuts to the voluntary sector, re-open six youth clubs, and introduce alternative car parking charges to boost income.
Their plans were described as "illusory" by the portfolio holder for the council plan, Gordon Lundie (Con, Lambourn) who clashed furiously with the leader of the opposition Jeff Brooks (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) and Julian Swift-Hook (Lib Dem, Greenham) throughout the evening.
Mr Swift-Hook was so exasperated with the scenes unfolding he hurled his agenda into a bin shortly before the end of the meeting, and he was not alone in showing visible frustration as angry protesters filed out at various points in the evening often causing breaks in the play.
One man, Newbury resident, Harry Blackburn, pointed a finger and shouted that the Conservatives "That is not your money you are cutting, it is ours," in reference to a point raised by Mr Rendel that the budget only targeted the poor and did nothing to take money from the wealthy to even out the hardship.
By the end it seemed many of the councillors had given up the pretence that the passing of the budget was anything more than a formality and the pantomime took in quotes from the bible, former American president Dwight Eisenhower, a stream of wordy insults, and the comparing of the Liberal Democrats budgeting acumen to that of perennially financially-troubled football club Portsmouth FC.
Alongside the cuts programme the council approved plans to raise the amount it can borrow by £18 million over the next three financial years to £138 million, to account for debt repayments, and approved plans to borrow a further £15 million to fund a capital spending program on industrial buildings, properties and equipment, over the next year
In approving the budget each councillor voted along party lines; all present Conservatives voted to approve the budget, with every Liberal Democrat against, and the Conservatives, who hold 75% of the seats on the council, were triumphant once again.
For more from the meeting see this week’s Newbury Weekly News.