11/02/08 - Conservatives Deliver Fair & Affordable Council Tax (Again!)

Swindon Conservatives are once again proposing a Council Tax rate inline with inflation.  The 08/09 level will be 3.5%, which also secured the support of the Lib Dem Councillors.  Labour put no alternative budget forward and thankfully no longer have the numbers to force through wallet busting hikes of 42% in just 3 years as they did before we took control of Swindon Council.

There is an extra £10m for improving front line services, and a further £7m has been taken out of Council budgets by improving efficiency.

The average Unitary Authority received a 5.1% increase in Government settlement, whilst Swindon once again was short changed with just 2%, not even enough to cover inflation.  In real terms this means we had to either raise additional money, or create additional effeciency savings to simply stay still.

Year on year we are short changed by the Labour Government, if we received the average settlement we would have a staggering £21 million extra a year!  (Remember every 1% on Council Tax is £750 000) - shame on Labour!

Since the Conservatives took control of Swindon Council in 2004, we have set Council Tax rises inline with inflation with an average rise just over 3.5%.  In contrast the former Labour Council on average hiked Council Tax by just under 11% per year, therefore if they had still been running Swindon Council today, an average Council Tax bill would be a staggering £383 higher!!!

Vera Tomlinson, Conservative Candidate 2008 Council Elections, “Local residents simply can not afford to vote for Labour!  Already within just a few Council Tax budgets local residents are a staggering £383 better off under the Conservatives.”