Cotswold council leader Joe Harris says local authorities are at breaking point and may be forced to hike tax, raise parking charges and make further spending cuts.

Cllr Harris issued the stark warning in response to the Chancellors budget on Wednesday.

The Liberal Democrat leader of Cotswold District Council, who also serves as Vice Chair of the Local Government Association (LGA), expressed deep concerns about the future of local government, describing the sector as “on life support” after the government’s recent announcement of an additional £1.3 billion in grant funding.

“The reality is bleak,” said Cllr Harris.

“According to the LGA, councils across the UK need at least £2.3 billion next year just to maintain services at current levels. The government’s offer falls far short of what’s required, leaving councils in a perilous financial position.”

While Cllr Harris welcomed announcements on funding for affordable housing and pothole repairs, he cautioned that the impact of these measures would be minimal. “Gloucestershire alone faces a backlog of road repairs worth tens of millions of pounds,” he said.

“The £500 million announced today for the entire country won’t even begin to address the scale of the problem.”

He also criticised the government’s decision to cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, warning that it will push more vulnerable residents to seek assistance from local councils, placing even more strain on already overstretched services.

“Despite all the talk of change from the new Labour government, austerity remains alive and well for local councils,” Cllr Harris said.

“Nothing announced today will give Gloucestershire’s council leaders any confidence that we can avoid further tax increases or cuts to services.

“Over the past 15 years, local government funding has been decimated. Regardless of our political differences, none of us came into public service to make things worse for our residents – but the government is leaving us with few options.”

Cllr Harris concluded with a blunt assessment: “We are at breaking point.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered Labour’s first Budget since 2010 on October 30. She announced tax rises worth £40bn to fund the NHS and other public services.

“We will deliver a significant real-terms funding increase for local government next year including £1.3bn of additional grant funding to deliver essential services.

“With at least £600m in grant funding for social care and £230m to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.”

She said she needed to take the difficult decisions to raise revenues needed to fund our public services and to restore economic stability.