As the dust from the much-loved Bournemouth Air Show settles, the eyes of the community turn towards the council to find information on the future of the show and the future of the area. As the Liberal Democrats took control of BCP council after winning 28 seats in the 2023 council elections, they have been able to storm ahead with their much-desired revolution in Bournemouth, starting with major reforms to operations and funding. The 44 million pound hole in the budget means that nothing is safe, even cancelling some of the Christmas lights in the town centres and many outright in the surrounding areas from 2023 onwards.
These financial problems started to occur because of poor management and fiscal policy by the Conservatives over the last few years, where council after council was overspending in many areas. This led to a situation where all of the reserves had been drained and there is now drastic action that needs to be taken; however, this isn’t the topic of this article.
Of course, this isn’t even close to the end of the nightmare for everyone involved, as there is still a forecasted £45 million gap in funding, which will mean that severe cuts will be on the way as well as council tax hikes. Many of these cuts and changes are yet to be announced, which is understandable as unloading every funding cut and tax hike all at once would produce an avalanche of disappointment and likely leave the Lib Dems in a poor position in the polls, which they will need to keep on top of as we inch closer and closer to a general election, where every party will be doing everything they can to oust the Tories from power. So, this dilemma will last longer than expected, and the pressure may continue to build on the council’s finances until the election is over. There are very interesting times ahead.
Bournemouth’s Air Show is always a great success for local business and local morale. It brings hundreds of thousands of people to Bournemouth town, an expected 600,000 in 2023, many of whom are not locals. This benefits Bournemouth’s economy greatly, and it also allows an opportunity for people to relax and have excitement and pride in the British Armed Services as they show off their impressive skills. I know from personal experience that this event is fantastic.
The event is free for people to attend, so consider the equipment, staff, and various other costs for the event lands the council a bill around £400,000 to run an event without any income via tickets. Controversial MP for Bournemouth East, Tobias Ellwood, disputed this in a video he posted on social media where he claimed that the event costs £50,000 to run, which was later disputed by BCP council. Nobody knows why Ellwood made this false claim. The event isn’t only popular for people living in Dorset; while many locals attend, there are people travelling from all around the country to see Bournemouth’s Air show. This leads to major revenue increases for hotels, restaurants, cafes, and retail stores on the high street, which provides a great boost for the local economy and raises funds for BCP Council through parking and other taxes.
The Liberal Democrats are aware that this event is popular, of course, and are likely only signalling at axing the show to present how serious they are with their revolution and attempt to get a grip on the economy. The lack of confirmation of commitment will leave a bad taste in the mouths of the people that voted for them less than six months prior, although the event may still go ahead in 2024. The council leader, Vikki Slade, defends and embraces major cuts as she believes that it would be worse if someone else decided what was going to be cut—an interesting move, considering the Lib Dems ran on a policy of fresh investment in council housing, investment in youth services, and upgrades to libraries, which is a stark contrast from reality now that they have power. The Liberal Democrats also claimed that they would be supporting local businesses and traders—cutting funds for Christmas lights and hinting at axing the Air Show—which will rightly have local business owners, tourism employees, and local traders that benefit from the air show very dissatisfied.
In the end, I believe that everything will be fine, and I don’t think that the Liberal Democrat-led council will outright cancel the Bournemouth Air Show, but the event’s funding will likely change in the future as Portfolio Holder for Customer, Communications and Culture, Councillor Andy Martin has hinted at a change to funding options in an interview he did with the BBC. Councillor Martin has already been in discussions with local businesses and has considered various new funding options. Councillor Martin makes note of his hopefulness that the event will go ahead next year and into the future. This is a positive sign and I believe that there will be a solution, rather than cancellation.
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