City councillors clashed over a 4,600-name petition to “save Bristol’s libraries”.
The Green-led administration, backed by Lib Dems and Conservatives, accused the opposition group of “scaremongering” and “propaganda” and insisted the service was not under threat after announcing previously that the budget would not be cut next year.
Labour said that despite this, no one in charge had met its challenge of promising that no branches would be shut as part of a major ongoing review into the future of the city’s libraries.
Presenting the petition at a full meeting of Bristol City Council on November 4, Labour group leader Cllr Tom Renhard said the ruling groups had initially proposed to cut funding by more than half – £2.4million from the £4.7million pot – for the service but had backtracked after it mounted a campaign.
He said: “At the point we left office in May 2024, we had delivered eight balanced budgets, and we still had 27 libraries in the city – having kept them all open.
“There were no easy decisions – the trade-off for keeping them all open was reducing some libraries’ operating hours. We knew that once the building’s gone, it’s gone for good.”
Cllr Renhard said the administration had failed to take many opportunities to rule out branch closures.
Cllr Ed Fraser (Green, Eastville), who is autistic, said he knew the importance of libraries because he spent the first few years of his life non-verbal and that reading with his mum and older brother at his local branch was crucial in his speech development.
Public health and communities chairman Cllr Stephen Williams (Lib Dem, Westbury-on-Trym & Henleaze) said: “The petition is full of falsehoods and scaremongering.”
He said former Labour mayor Marvin Rees proposed to close 17 libraries, which was only dropped after a public outcry.
Cllr Williams said: “Instead of which there was a 25 per cent cut to the libraries budget. They worsened this by putting in place a recruitment freeze.
“Last year the Greens and Liberal Democrats decided we would not cut the libraries budget. This year we have made an announcement – probably unprecedented so far out – that next year’s 2026/27 libraries budget is also safeguarded.
“Under Labour, libraries were under threat, un-loved and under-appreciated.
“Under the Lib Dem and Green administration they are appreciated, they are valued and they have a safe and secure future.”
Tory group leader Cllr Mark Weston said: “The bit that I’m getting annoyed about is that I wasn’t aware there was actually a threat to close libraries.
By Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting Service