This Is Why 9 Councils Are Bankrupt

Nine UK councils have declared effective bankruptcy since 2018. Over £5 billion in debt. And when I followed the money, I found a pattern: the same companies kept getting paid while your local services collapsed.
One man allegedly bought a private jet, a country estate, and a yacht — all with council tax money. A single IT project went from £19 million to £216 million. Treasury advisers took kickbacks to sell councils toxic loans. And the consultants investigating these failures? Often the same firms that helped create them.
This is the very profitable business of bankrupting UK councils.

The nine councils that declared bankruptcy: Northamptonshire (2018), Croydon (2020, 2021, 2022), Slough (2021), Thurrock (2022), Woking (2023), Birmingham (2023), Nottingham (2023).
Combined debt: Over £5 billion
Council jobs lost since 2012: 600,000+
Councils expecting bankruptcy in next 5 years: 50%


KEY SOURCES:
Thurrock & Rockfire Capital:
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism — "Thurrock: The Council That Bet £655m on Solar Farms"
https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com...
Reuters — "UK Council That Made Risky Bets on Solar Faces Criminal Probe"
https://www.reuters.com
Thurrock Council Official Statement
https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/news/1518...
Birmingham Oracle Failure:
The Register — "Birmingham Oracle Costs Hit £216M"
https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/2...
Computer Weekly — "Birmingham City Council's Oracle Implementation Explained"
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/3...
CIO — "10 Famous ERP Disasters"
https://www.cio.com/article/278677/en...
LOBO Loans:
UK Parliament Written Evidence
https://committees.parliament.uk/writ...
Room 151 — Treasury Adviser Conflicts
https://www.room151.co.uk/treasury/tr...
Public Finance — "LOBO Loans and Libor Litigation"
https://www.publicfinance.co.uk/opini...
Capita & Outsourcing:
Computer Weekly — "Barnet Council to Bring Work Back In-House"
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2...
Infosecurity Magazine — "8,000 Claimants Sue Capita"
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com...
Tech Monitor — "Why The Public Sector Still Loves Capita"
https://www.techmonitor.ai/government...
Council Inspections & Reports:
GOV.UK — Northamptonshire Inspection (Max Caller)
https://www.gov.uk/government/collect...
GOV.UK — Slough Borough Council Explanatory Memorandum
https://www.gov.uk/government/publica...
Local Government Lawyer — Woking Monitoring Officer Failures
https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co....
Commercial Property & NAO:
National Audit Office — Local Authority Investment in Commercial Property
https://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases...
Consultancy Spending:
Consultancy.uk — "Spending on Consultants by UK Councils Jumps to £400 Million"
https://www.consultancy.uk/news/20265...
The Register — "UK Government Consultancy Spending Grows"
https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/2...
Future Outlook:
UNISON — Council Funding Gap Report 2025
https://www.unison.org.uk/content/upl...
CIPFA/NAO — Financial Sustainability Report 2025
https://www.cipfa.org/about-cipfa/pre...