Hillingdon Council's finance chief was asked to step down from his role in what the council leader describes as a 'mutual agreement', rather than resigning entirely of his own accord, it has emerged.
Councillor Martin Goddard, the former Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation, left his post immediately despite public communications suggesting his departure was voluntary due to not standing for re-election in May 2026.
Leadership Changes and Political Fallout
Council Leader Ian Edwards confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he asked his colleague to resign from the Cabinet, stating he wanted a finance lead committed to delivering budgets beyond May 2026.
"The statement released explains that budget building for 2026/27 and beyond has now commenced in earnest and I believe the person responsible for forming that budget should be committed to also deliver it," Edwards said.
Councillor Eddie Lavery, former Cabinet Member for Community and Environment, has taken over the finance portfolio, while Councillor Wayne Bridges has joined the Cabinet to replace Lavery's previous role.
Financial Crisis Deepens
The leadership change comes amid serious financial challenges facing the west London council. Hillingdon Council has wiped out £70 million in reserves during this term and is facing a spiralling overspend of £36 million that continues to rise.
Deputy Leader of Hillingdon Labour, Councillor Sital Punja, described the situation as "chaos" and accused the Conservative administration of being "in complete disarray".
"How stupid do the Conservative administration think Hillingdon residents are?" Punja asked. "To claim this was a 'planned departure since August' is utterly ludicrous."
The council's own Chief Financial Officer confirmed Hillingdon will require three consecutive years of Exceptional Financial Support from the Labour Government just to avoid effectively declaring bankruptcy.
Transparency Questions Emerge
Further questions have been raised about transparency after it emerged that Hillingdon Council made £1 million in payments to Grant Thornton, Cllr Goddard's former employer, since his appointment to Cabinet.
Only one payment of £70,000 was made to the company in the six years prior to his appointment. While there's no evidence of wrongdoing and Cllr Goddard states he has no financial interest in the company, opposition councillors have expressed concerns.
Council Leader Edwards continues to deny the council faces a financial crisis, describing the situation as an "underfunding crisis" that he expects will be "resolved by government".
