Lib Dem chief Michael Dixey has denounced the city council’s new budget as “horrible” and accused central government of forcing local authorities to do its “dirty work”.

The next financial year will see council spending cut to below £18 million as the authority is left to find savings of £2.2 million – due largely to the direct grant reduction from Whitehall.

At Tuesday night’s annual budget meeting, Cllr Dixey said: “This is a horrible, horrible budget. It’s all about cuts, cuts and more cuts.”

Direct funding from central government stood at £10.5 million in 2011, compared to £8 million this year. It is forecast to be to £4 million by 2021.

Meanwhile, the city council’s tax precept for an average band D property has increased from £178 in 2011 to £199 from April.

Cllr Dixey went on: “I don’t think any of us stood for election to this council so that we could slash public services – but that’s what we are doing tonight.

“We have little choice. This Conservative government is cutting council grants by around 60%. It means that we are having to do the government’s dirty work for them.

“Ironically, the Audit Commission, before it was abolished, showed time and again that local government was far more efficient at delivering services than central government.

“Yet Whitehall has emerged relatively unscathed from these cutbacks compared to local government.”

Cllr Dixey, whose group did not propose any amendments to the budget, accused the Conservative-run council of not doing enough to lobby central government for extra funding.

Council leader Simon Cook rejected the charge.

The Conservative said: “Do not think for a moment that because central government is taking this approach it does not mean that members of this council are not asking them questions or lobbying them.

“In the meantime, we have a council to run. We have services to deliver for our residents and businesses as well and efficiently as we can.

“We are spending their money and I never forget that.”

The total budget for the next financial year will be £17.7 million, with £8 million coming from central government and the rest collected directly by the council itself.

Cllr Cook, however, agreed that Whitehall is squeezing local authorities.

He said: “Central government continues to see us as the easy option – because we deliver.

“We somehow keep the show on the road despite our ever shrinking funding.”

The budget for 2017/18 was approved with the support of the Lib Dem, Labour and Ukip opposition groups.