Labour group propose unworkable Council Tax hikes

12.00.00am GMT Fri 16th Jan 2004

On November 18th 2003 the collected wisdom of Hounslow Council's Labour Group brought a motion to Council supporting the Local Government Minister, Nick Rainsford. Their nightmare proposal was to bolt on yet another piece of bureaucratic nonsense onto the already complicated Council Tax system. Their suggestion that taxpayers should pay an increased amount to subsidize the over 60s, irrespective of their ability to pay, was unworkable. This idea was supposedly in response to the real concerns of our local taxpayers, who struggle under the ever-increasing burden of large council tax hikes. These excessive rises have been placed on them by a combination of Central Government interference and Council incompetence.

The LibDem Party group opposed this suggestion, the Tories went along with it!

Only a few days later it became clear that it was obvious that we were right and that the flagship Labour proposal crumbled under investigation. We ask, do any of the Labour group feel humiliated? They should because they put their hands up because they were told to. Hardly grown up political leadership for our borough!

On the night of the 18th, Councillor Ray Fincher leading the Liberal Democrat Group opposition, made the case for the LibDem policy which is to move towards a Local Income Tax in place of Council Tax. Research shows this would be a more efficient tax, a fairer tax with the majority paying less than under the present scheme. Local Income Tax would also hold back central government interference in local affairs. Voters would see clearly who was responsible for any waste of public money and could extract revenge at the ballot box! Scrap Council Tax our considered and substantial contribution to the debate. Clearly the comrades, can we still call them that, are not used to democratic debate and found it necessary to howl and try to shout Cllr. Fincher down. As a piece of Old Time Music Hall it was invigorating for the Lib. Dems. Since it proved that Labour had no constructive contribution to make, presumably still waiting for instruction on what to think from Labour H.Q.

Cllr. Fincher said after the meeting, "I did not mind the noise they made, I was relieved to know that for a change they were not asleep."

But it gets worse for those comrades stuck in a time warp of their own making. On television news, Thursday, 15th January the L.G.A. (Local Government Association), the organisation representing councils across the land, of all political colours, announced that they wished to engage in discussions with Central Government with the intention of moving toward the Liberal Democratic National Policy of Local Income Tax. Oh Dear! Oh Dear!

What can we learn from this? Perhaps a return to proper debate rather than the majority group allowing itself to be led by the nose by Central Government.