Broke Council Blows £35K on Pride Crossing Amid Debt Crisis

The spiralling crisis in UK local government finances has reached a new low, epitomised by the staggering revelation that a debt-ridden council spent nearly £36,000 on politically charged rainbow road markings while simultaneously hiking taxes and cutting vital services. This single, highly controversial expenditure in Blackpool is being cited as a prime example of fiscally irresponsible local authorities prioritising 'politically correct' vanity projects over the basic needs of their communities, adding fuel to a national firestorm over council spending waste.

Blackpool's £35k Crossing Controversy Amidst £570m Debt

Blackpool Council, a Labour-led authority, invested £35,598.83 in six rainbow-coloured pedestrian crossings last year to celebrate the town's “long-established LGBTQ+ history and diversity.” This spending occurred despite the council's acknowledged cumulative debt standing at around £570 million. In the same financial year, the council was forced to cut almost £9 million from its budget, predominantly impacting adult social care and children’s services. Residents were hit with a five per cent increase in council tax, adding an extra £115 to the average Band D property bill.

The financial trade-off has drawn sharp criticism from political and legal commentators. Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, condemned the spending, stating the council is pursuing a “politically correct agenda while essential public services are struggling for funding.” Her organisation is now actively considering a judicial review, claiming the crossings violate political neutrality laws under the Local Government Act 1986.

Further intensifying the outrage, rights charity Sex Matters, through its director of advocacy Maya Forstater, highlighted both the financial recklessness and potential safety issues. Forstater slammed the outlay as “wasteful and unnecessary” and a “safety concern” for those with impaired vision.

While Council Leader Lynn Williams defended the spending, claiming the funds came from a specific pot designated for public space improvements—and therefore could not be used for road maintenance—the optics remain devastating for the authority. Especially damning is the fact that Blackpool was one of just a handful of councils identified by the RAC as failing to fill in a single pothole or resurface any roads in the previous year, underscoring a critical infrastructure failure.

A National Pattern of Waste and Financial Ruin

Blackpool's situation is not an isolated incident; it reflects a broader, systemic failure across the UK's local government sector where severe financial distress coexists with instances of highly questionable spending. The context is one of a growing financial crisis where several English local authorities, including Birmingham, Croydon, Slough, and Woking, have issued Section 114 notices, effectively declaring themselves unable to set a balanced budget and facing a functional state of bankruptcy.

While this crisis is largely driven by a combination of surging demand for statutory services like children's and adult social care (which has seen spending rise significantly in real terms between 2015-16 and 2023-24, according to NAO data) and a decade of reduced central government funding, individual examples of wasteful, non-essential spending continue to provoke public anger:

•  Soaring Homelessness Costs: The rise in local authority homelessness expenditure is particularly acute. For instance, spending on immediate homelessness services dramatically increased by 105% in real terms between 2015-16 and 2023-24, placing immense strain on budgets.
•  Consultancy and Non-Core Projects: Taxpayer groups have repeatedly highlighted examples of councils spending millions on external consultants for work that could be completed in-house, alongside discretionary funds being allocated to non-essential 'cultural' and 'environmental' projects while core services decline.
•  Administrative and Ceremonial Overheads: Reports have surfaced of administrative excesses, including significant sums spent on office refurbishments, lavish events, and high-cost temporary agency staff to cover shortages, which is a major factor in the escalating social care budget crisis.

The situation across the country points to an unsustainable model. As council tax bills rise—with councils having to rely on this source for a greater proportion of their core spending power than ever before—and funding for essential infrastructure and preventive services is cut, the public is increasingly demanding a complete overhaul of fiscal priorities. The decision to allocate nearly £36,000 to a decorative road marking in Blackpool, a sum that could have covered hundreds of urgent pothole repairs or provided crucial support to vulnerable families, has become a potent symbol of a deeply broken system, where taxpayer money is systematically being diverted from the front lines of community need to discretionary projects.