In Total Denial of the Reality that's before them: Hartlepool MP Denies Council’s £16m Black Hole, Calling Local Resident’s Facts ‘Propaganda’
- teessidetoday
- Nov 27
- 4 min read
Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash Dismisses Council’s Own Budget Figures as ‘Fake News’, with even some his own Labour supporters claiming both Mr Brash & his Council leader wife "have lost the fiscal plot" !
27th November 2025
Hartlepool Labour MP Jonathan Brash has provoked anger after publicly accusing a member of the public of “gaslighting” and spreading “fake news propaganda” for raising concerns about the council’s worsening financial position. But the figures the local resident quoted came directly from Hartlepool Borough Council’s own financial reports, official budget papers, and statements from the Council’s Chief Finance Officer.
The dispute has now reportedly dragged national politics into Hartlepool’s already fragile financial meltdown — and raised serious questions about transparency, accountability, and Labour’s insistence on forcing through a Council Tax freeze, despite warnings from its own finance officials that it could 'wreck' the councils ability to produce a balance budget going forward.
The Exchange: Resident Quotes Official Figures — MP Calls It “Fake News”
The argument began when a local resident highlighted the alarming budget gaps facing Hartlepool:
£16–16.5 million deficit for 2025/26
£8.5 million projected deficit for 2026/27
Reliance on temporary government grants
The risk that a Council Tax freeze will worsen the financial hole
In response, Labour MP Jonathan Brash dismissed the concerns entirely, writing:
“None of this true – stop gaslighting people with fake news propaganda.”
But the numbers quoted by the local resident were not rumours, exaggerations, or social media hearsay — they were actually taken directly from:
Hartlepool Borough Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP)
Finance committee papers (Feb 2025)
UNISON’s national council funding research
Even the council’s own Section 151 Finance Officer has publicly warned councillors that he cannot sign off a budget as “robust” if Labour forces through a Council Tax freeze for 2026/27, with the legally designated finance officer fulfilling his statutory duty indicating that such a fiscal move would be highly damaging to the councils financial position.
Brash Claims Tax Freeze Is “Fully Funded” — But Council Officials Say the Opposite...
Brash has repeatedly insisted that his planned Council Tax freeze is safe because it will be funded by Fair Funding 2.0, the government’s reformed local government settlement.
However, council officers — the people who actually write the budget — have stated clearly that Fair Funding 2.0 will not come even close to covering Hartlepool’s widening deficit.
Mr Brash Stated :
“The tax freeze is funded by Fair Funding 2.0.”
What the council’s own finance officials say:
Fair Funding 2.0 provides only modest benefit to Hartlepool.
Increases in Fair Funding will be phased in over three years, not immediately.
The Funding “will go nowhere near addressing the council’s structural budget deficit”.
The Council Tax freeze creates a £2.804 million loss per year in revenue.
Without a tax rise, the budget cannot be signed off as robust or sustainable.
In simple terms:
Fair Funding will not save Hartlepool from the deficits Labour is creating.
The Reality: Hartlepool’s Deficit Is Real, Rising, and Official
Below are the verified, official figures — which the Labour MP for Hartlepool Brash dismissed as “gaslighting”:
Council’s own published projections (Feb 2025):
£16.5m gap for 2025/26
More than £8.5m gap for 2026/27
£20.5m+ deficit across the next four years
Reserves collapsing to near minimum levels
Children’s Services pressures:
External placements costing £12m per year
Overspend this year alone: £6.195m
No growth funding in Labour’s draft 2026/27 budget
Section 151 Finance Officer warning:
He will not be able to sign off the budget as “robust” if Labour imposes a tax freeze.
Reform UK: “We Cannot Ignore Officer Warnings”
Reform UK councillors have also refused to back Labour’s poised Council Tax freeze, accusing the MP and the Labour group of deliberately misleading the public.
One councillor reportedly stated:
“We cannot ignore officer warnings about the council’s financial position. Labour’s gamble is purely politically motivated.”
Reform UK say Labour is trying to buy popularity ahead of the May 2026 elections, knowing full well the consequences the freeze will have once the grants dry up.
Labour’s Gamble: Political Self-Interest Over Financial Stability?
Critics argue Labour is repeating a now-familiar pattern that's caused Hartlepool Borough Councils financial catastrophe, promising a freeze before an election whilst ignoring the financial warnings & patching fiscal black holes holes with temporary one-off grants, dealing with the consequences of it all after polling day...
The risk is that Hartlepool could be soon joining the growing list of councils — Birmingham, Slough, Thurrock, Croydon — that were forced to issue Section 114 notices after years of political avoidance and populist decision-making.
If Hartlepool loses millions in Council Tax revenue, while deficits rise and reserves dry up, sources claim the collapse could come sooner rather than later.
The Bigger Picture: A Battle Over Truth Itself
By accusing residents of “gaslighting” simply for quoting the council’s own financial data, Brash has drawn significant criticism for attempting to shut down legitimate public scrutiny over the councils now collapsing finances.
The question now being asked: If the finances are so healthy, why is the Chief Finance Officer refusing to sign off the budget?
Why are the deficits documented in official papers? Why are services already being cut or scaled back? And why is Labour so desperate for the public not to talk about it?
The facts are clear, whether Brash likes it or not...Whatever the towns MP Mr Brash claims on social media, the facts remain:
Hartlepool Borough Council faces multi-million-pound deficits.
The Finance Officer has issued serious legal warnings.
Fair Funding will not cover the gap.
A Council Tax freeze will deepen the crisis.
Brash's Dismissal of the official data, branding it as “propaganda” does not change the reality.
Labours Bankrupting Hartlepool
