Hypocrisy shown by Conservative councillors

8.31.06pm GMT Tue 3rd Mar 2009

I marvelled at the hypocrisy shown by Conservative councillors on Bracknell Forest Borough Council on 25 February when they voted to approve the latest council tax increase of 4.9% for the coming year. Their difficulty in trying to justify the increase was matched only by the disingenous way in which they sought to show that they really did have the best interests of local counccil taxpayers at heart during this difficult time.

The approved increase is one of the highest in the country and nearly twice the national average. The increase flies in the face of Conservative Party policy, which is supposedly aimed at freezing council tax and shows a total disregard for the interests of local council taxpayers who are struggling to cope with the effects of the recession.

Claims that the council still has one of the lowest council taxes of any unitary authority in the country ring a little hollow, following the string of such increases council taxpayers have had to endure in recent years. The difference with other unitary authorities is at best marginal and it has only been achieved by the council spending less than it should on a wide range of front-line services and facilities.

The almost total lack of transparency in council spending makes it difficult to establish precisely how much is being spent on individual services but the evidence is mounting that much of the increase is once again being used to support growing administrative and staff costs. Staff numbers, in particular, have continued to rise and agency/consultancy costs now equate to almost 20% of all the council tax collected.

The impact of the increase on low-paid households, pensioners and others who may be in economic difficulty hardly seems to have crossed the council's mind. At a time of growing financial uncertainty the last thing council taxpayers need is an increase of this magnitude. If the council cannot live within its means and let's not forget that the loss of £5m in two Icelandic banks is still outstanding, then the Leader of the Council, at the very least, should seriously consider his position.

Liberal Democrats of course would abolish council tax and replace it with a much fairer system of local taxation based on the ability to pay. As this failed exercise in public accountability demonstrates once again, local government funding is in urgent need of reform but neither the Conservatives nor Labour are prepared to do it.

Ray Earwicker

Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bracknell Forest