Two weeks. Two dismal budgets.

12.00.00am GMT Sun 20th Mar 2005

In the space of less than two weeks the people of Hounslow have had the disappointment of not one, but two dismal budgets from the Labour party, say the Liberal Democrats.

Andrew Dakers, Liberal Democrat Prospective MP for Brentford & Isleworth, commented:

"IN HOUNSLOW we have seen Council Tax rise above inflation yet again, this time an increase of 4.6%.

"Across Hounslow the Liberal Democrats are getting phenomenal support for the real solution: replacing council tax with a fair local income tax. Thank you to the hundreds of you that have already signed the Liberal Democrats' petition to Axe the Tax.

"Hounslow's Council Tax doubling in 10 years is clearly unsustainable economics. Appallingly in these circumstances, but of little surprise, Hounslow Borough Council's budget was allowed only an hour of scrutiny by opposition parties.

AT WESTMINSTER we saw the performance of a Labour Chancellor that could only find sticking plasters to fix the problem of Council Tax and had no serious proposals to address pensioner poverty."

"As the Chancellor's Parliamentary Private Secretary, perhaps Ann Keen can explain why he is just patching up the unfair council tax system rather than tackling the fundamental problem - the tax itself - and replacing it with a fair local income tax, which will benefit the typical household by over £450 a year, and the average single pensioner by £209 a year?

"And I wonder if Tory candidate Alexander Northcote fully supports the Tories' policy of cutting grants to councils (by £2bn by 2007/08), which would result in Council Tax rises of about £100 for every household?"