Bromley Lib Dems propose Council Tax Freeze; Tories force through tax rise despite economic hardship

9.34.28pm GMT Tue 24th Feb 2009

Cllr Tom Papworth

Bromley's Liberal Democrats have proposed a freeze on Council Tax for the coming year and called upon the Conservatives to abandon their 2.7% tax rise.

The Lib Dems proposed an amendment to the Tory budget that would have stopped Bromley's taxpayers having to foot ever-higher bills.

Cllr Tom Papworth explained "For years the Tories have been voting for above-inflation tax rises, claiming that they needed to build up reserves for the tough times ahead. Well, the tough times are here! Thousands of Bromley residents are losing their jobs, struggling to pay their mortgages and seeing income from savings and pensions decline - all because of Gordon Brown's mismanagement of the economy. For the Tories to demand higher taxes at a time like this is a slap in the face to our residents."

The Lib Dem amendment would have maintained the level of services in the borough while freezing the rise in Council Tax. This could have been achieved because the Tories collected £2 million more than they spent in 2008/9.

Bromley's Labour group refused to support the amendment and it was voted down by the Conservatives. Yet only a few months ago, both the Conservative and Labour groups votes for massive pay rises for their leaders.

Cllr Reg Adams said: "Our budget would have frozen pay for councillors, reversed last year's massive increases for the Tories and Labour and scrapped he 'jobs for the boys' that see some councillors earning extra money. It is typical of their mentality that neither the Tories nor Labour supported us.

"When many of our residents are facing financial difficulties at home or at work, the Council should not be dipping its hands ever deeper into their pockets."