If you will forgive us for mixed metaphors, we’re heading for the perfect storm and tighten your belts. The next few months are going to be a shock for you - and for every local authority in our region.

As things stand now, six months our from a Senedd election, the Welsh Government’s draft spending plans will leave hard up rural councils again facing a financial squeeze.

With only 2.5 per cent more coming from Cardiff Bay, our hard-pressed local authorities will have no choice by to significantly increase our property taxes and cut back even more on the bare-bones services they currently provide.

The Welsh Government unveiled details of the £27bn draft budget on 3 November as ministers face a significant political test to get the spending plans passed by the Senedd.

Finance secretary Mark Drakeford provided an update on the 2026/27 draft budget, which includes an extra £800m, setting out line-by-line allocations for public services.

The former first minister has brought forward a “roll-over” draft budget, broadly rising by about two per cent in line with inflation, in an effort to cut a deal with opposition parties.

The budget will mean the settlement for councils would rise by an average of 2.5 per cent, with a “funding floor” to ensure no local authority receives less than a 2.3 per cent increase.

Last year, amid pleas from rural councils including Powys, Ceredigion, Gwynedd and Pembrokeshire, the Welsh Government introduced a 3.8 per cent funding floor for all councils.

The likelihood of a 2.5 per cent or less increase next year will pile pressure on Ceredigion to find more cuts.

Pembrokeshire County Council has also warned of experiencing significant budgetary challenges that require more money than is currently received from Welsh Government with the council’s draft Medium Term Financial Plan 2025-26 to 2028-29 showed a projected funding gap of between £66.5m and £80.8m.

Gwynedd council warned this year that “we have now reached a point where we cannot squeeze more of it without cutting services that would have a clear and direct impact on the residents of Gwynedd.”

The news is dire, the outlook bleak, Remember that when you have your say in May.